Attraction and the Things that Come After
by kutnerlove
Summary: Cuddy actually did help House detox and they actually did have sex...now they set out to try a relationship on for size.
1. Attraction

**A/N: I LOVE THE END OF SEASON 5 AND IT IS BRILLIANT, BUT THIS HAS TO BE DONE. I have to explore the what if…What if Cuddy had actually helped House detox and they had actually slept together? Hehe...my mind is a playground for the wonderfully twisted and the sinfully delicious possibilities!**

Attraction and the Things that Come After

She had helped him detox and they had slept together; this was the realization that struck Greg House when he woke up. He smiled remembering the way she had felt surrounding him. For twenty years it had been building up and now they were getting the chance to make something happen. He couldn't get her out of his head. Cuddy was already gone by the time he had awakened, but he could still smell the scent of her perfume on his pillows. He cleaned himself up and even considered shaving before going in to work.

At last he decided that she liked him the way he was and simply put on clean clothes before heading into work…a full hour earlier than he would have normally done. "What happened to you?" Foreman asked him when he entered the office. "You look…good."

"That's what love does for you," House replied before disappearing into his office. Foreman didn't realize his boss was serious. He simply rolled his eyes and made a comment about a wild night with a few hookers before going back to his newspaper. House cheerfully treated the patient that was brought to him and made a trip to Wilson's office to gloat about his wonderful experience the night before.

"You two actually slept together?" Wilson asked upon hearing House's revelation. He was clearly shocked. "House, this is huge."

"I know." House's day was looking up, he didn't even mind the two hours he spent in the clinic so entranced was he by the prospect of starting a relationship with Cuddy. He entered her office and found her working. She blushed when their eyes met. "Well hello there," he said as seductively as he could manage. "Care for a quick romp on the desk?"

"House. Please don't do that. We're at work…I don't even know how I feel about what happened last night."

"I know how you should feel," he told her, trying to block out the thoughts that said she might not be as happy about the previous evening as she was during the sex. "Not many women get the full experience of Greg House!"

She sighed and met his eyes, choosing her words carefully. "I care about you House, but I need to think about some things right now…"

He took a deep breath. "Fine," he replied optimistically after a few moments. "Think about the ecstasy you experienced last night all you want. I expect you to show up at my place tonight, though at 7 sharp." Before she had a chance to protest he walked out of the office.

Cuddy sighed, staring after him. She wanted things to work out, but it was House after all…she needed to talk to Wilson. As much as she was afraid of what he would tell her, he had to know what had gone on.

"He's really happy," Wilson said when Cuddy came to him that evening. "And I think you should be too. It's great. You've wanted it for a while. Go for it."

"This is House we're talking about. He's eventually going to realize what he's done…fraternizing with the enemy or whatever and it'll all blow up in my face."

"I don't think so," Wilson told her. "Not this time."

"He's used you to get to me before," Cuddy pointed out. "It could be just another trick to get me to express my feelings so he can make me look like an idiot."

"True. You really should give this a shot though. I think it's the real thing."

Cuddy took the advice to heart, but had to wonder if she was getting in over her head when she arrived at House's apartment that evening. Wilson had agreed to babysit Rachel and Cuddy had dressed up quite nicely. House greeted her at the door with a grin and wearing a tie. "You look hot," he told her. She blushed faintly but thanked him, expressing her feelings about the tie being a nice touch. "The Chinese should be here in half an hour or so…do you want a drink?"

"Sure." The silence was uncomfortable until House put on the television. The food arrived and they ate while watching 'Cops.' Cuddy's heart started to fall until House brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face. Her eyes met his and they shared an intimate kiss. "If we do this," she told him, "you have to promise you won't hurt me."

"Pinky promise," he replied with a smirk before kissing her again. She had no idea that she was the one with the power over his heart. They stood awkwardly, still attached at the lips, and made their way toward House's bedroom, scenes of the previous night flashing in their minds. Cuddy couldn't believe her luck…it seemed that her helping him detox had paid off for both of them…


	2. Night Moves

Ch 2: Night Moves

Cuddy breathed in the scent of House as they stumbled back and crashed onto the bed. She was worried that his leg wouldn't be able to take that kind of abuse, but if he was hurting, she didn't see it. Instead she saw the fire in his eyes, lust for her burning his very soul. She felt the intense sensations of him caressing her body, tweaking her nipples through the thin cloth and perusing the contours of her body as he lapped hungrily at her mouth.

She tasted of ambrosia and smelled like Juniper, making him feel like he was making love to a goddess. Her body certainly did nothing to quell those arguments and as he pulled her shirt from her body and took in the sight of her barely contained breasts he realized that he was staring into the face of his heaven. He muttered sweet nothings into the crook of her neck as she worked on disrobing him and his body heat continued to rise.

They fumbled with, pulled, and even tore a bit of their clothing in their haste to feel the expanse of the other against their naked body. When he finally slipped the thong down her legs and over her feet, discarding it somewhere in the corner of his bedroom, he covered her body with his own, claiming her mouth once again as his alone. Cuddy wrapped her arms around him, hoping he would never let her go and their tongues battled fiercely.

Cuddy was somewhat disappointed when House broke their kiss, but the feeling didn't last long when she felt his lips and tongue on her neck. Of course he was marking her. He was a little insecure after having so many failed attempts at relationships. She didn't mind in the slightest, however. Secretly she had always enjoyed men bruising the soft flesh of her throat; it made her feel as though they were warning off others who would dare to come near her. She wanted to belong to somebody.

House's mouth was moving slowly down her body, she realized; his tongue drawing hot patterns on her skin. He was at her breasts, nipping and sucking, toying with one while he caressed the other. She arched her back, thrusting her breasts up into his waiting mouth. He accepted her offering and rewarded her greatly; giving her pleasures she hadn't had in a long time. His name slipped from her lips like a prayer and he paused in his ministrations. He kissed her gently, using one hand to position himself at her entrance. She looked into his sharp blue eyes with her deep ones and took in his every feature as he slid inside her.

Their lovemaking was slow at first, loving she dared to tell herself. The pace was slow and easy, House using his weaker leg simply to steady himself as the other held up the entire weight of his body. Cuddy enjoyed the waves of sensation washing over her being, but soon the gentleness wasn't enough. She wanted all of him inside of her. She had been waiting for something like this to happen between them for years and had dared get her hopes up the previous night.

Cuddy gripped his hips and used her weight as leverage to flip them over. House was a little surprised, but pleasantly as she waited for him to adjust his leg to the new position. She sank down on him slowly, but immediately picked up the pace. He held her waist as she rode him, harder and harder until she exploded into orgasm around him, pulling him over the edge with her. She faintly heard her name on his lips, but was too busy riding out the feelings that shook her very core to take in the implications of such an occurrence.

When she finally caught her breath and found her bearings she moved away from him for a moment, then lay beside him, draped over half of his body. As she snuggled up to him beneath the comforter she felt true happiness for the first time in a long time. 'I think I love him,' she realized before drifting into the unconsciousness that played out her dreams.

House watched her sleep for a while before settling down himself. He hadn't expected to become so instantly committed to her, but he knew that if he even mentioned it to Wilson he wouldn't be able to stop the wedding plans that would surely emerge instantaneously. He wanted to be able to enjoy the fullness of a relationship with the woman in his arms before bringing it to light. He still hadn't become fully comfortable with it. All he had known when he had asked her to eat dinner with him was that he felt something with her and had to pursue it. Now he knew that he could never let her go.


	3. Halfway to Heaven

Ch 3- Halfway to Heaven

Waking up next to House was an interesting sensation that Cuddy decided she could get used to. He was a fairly heavy sleeper and didn't want to get out of bed once he was roused, so she didn't worry about waking him as she disentangled herself from him to go to the bathroom. After peeing, she let herself give in to curiosity and peeked into his medicine cabinet. There were the usual suspects: alcohol swabs, peroxide, toothpaste and a toothbrush, q-tips, and various other things that everybody had, but what struck Cuddy as odd was the obvious absence of Vicodin. Sure she had emptied it out the night that House had detoxed, but she had expected him to refill the cabinet with the drugs as soon as she was out of the apartment.

She couldn't help but wonder if he was actually off the drugs. She quietly riffled through his drawers, finding nothing more suspicious than a pair of red socks curiously placed in the bottom drawer near the extra toilet paper. She let herself hope for a moment that he was actually trying to kick his habit, but quickly shut off her excitement, determined to ask him before jumping to conclusions. House hated people who jumped to conclusions when the answer was as simple as a question.

After a few more moments of her searching, Cuddy exited the bathroom and tried to find a towel so she could get a shower. Of course he didn't keep his towels in the linen closet; that would have been too simple and too ordinary. She found some clean materials in the laundry room, however, on a shelf above his dryer. House still wasn't awake when she made her way back into the bathroom to clean herself up and she decided to make him breakfast after her shower.

Satisfied with herself and with the possibility of House getting off drugs, Cuddy disrobed and got under the stream of hot water. She hummed a bit of 'Passing Afternoon' as she washed her hair, oblivious to the stirring of her lover in the adjoining room. She was so caught up in the blissful morning that she didn't even hear House come into the bathroom. He knew exactly what she was doing, however.

Feeling a bit mischievous and more than a little aroused at the idea of a wet Lisa Cuddy in his shower, House had stripped off his boxers and entered the bathroom quietly. House simply watched her for a few moments through the thin veil of curtain that kept water out of his floor…she was beautiful. He pushed back the shower curtain and stepped inside, finally making Cuddy aware of his presence.

She gasped when she felt the momentary breeze of cool air hit her backside as House entered the shower behind her. "I thought you were still asleep," she admitted, turning around to face him.

"Good morning to you too," he said sarcastically, taking in the sight of the bubbles dripping down between her generous breasts. He practically licked his lips staring at her body. Cuddy smiled, realizing what he was thinking without even looking at the twitching member dangling between his legs, tempted to salute her.

"I was going to make you breakfast," she told him, running her slick, wet hands over his hard chest.

"I think I can manage with what I've got right now," he told her with a wink, cupping her breasts and squeezing firmly. She let out a delighted sigh which urged House on. He pressed his body to hers and within seconds he was standing proud and ready for action. She loved the feeling of being pressed against him and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, then wiggled against him, subtly adding friction to their connection. "You're beautiful," he told her gruffly before capturing her mouth.

She tangled her fingers in his hair as his tongue explored her mouth and his hands slid down and around to caress her ass. House was truly a sexual god, she decided when he slipped one hand under her and one finger into her wet center from behind. He teased her slowly, knowing that she wanted him hard and fast. They were like two teenagers with raging hormones she thought pleasantly, but she lost all ability to think when he hit the spot inside her that made her melt.

House sat down on the edge of the bathtub and brought Cuddy closer to him, though he kept her standing. He placed her legs on either side of his and rubbed her firm bottom as he looked up at her, eyes twinkling. When she realized his intentions, she smiled, but her smile turned into a gasp when he buried his face in her dark curls. His tongue plunged into her a few times, then was replaced by two fingers as he circled her clit. She moaned loudly and pressed his head more firmly against her body, reveling in the feeling of his mouth and hands working on her intimate portions.

He pushed her over the edge within minutes and had her climbing the peak again. "I need you inside of me," she told him as he pumped his digits in and out of her. "NOW!"

House laughed to himself for a moment before removing his fingers from her body and allowing her to slowly come down to sit on his manhood. As she enveloped him with her body he let out a sigh and she took the lead. Cuddy ground against him, eliciting a few soft swearwords and praises, then agonizingly slowly moved up and down on him. He couldn't take the pace for long and was soon gripping her hips and slamming her down on him as he bucked up against her. It was blissful and he came soon after, spraying her insides with his seed as the spray of the water pounded into her back.

She was panting against him, clinging to him for dear life for several moments before she could move. "You're amazing," she managed to say after a while.

"I try," he replied smugly. They finished their shower quickly and Cuddy moved toward the kitchen once dressed.

"How do you like your eggs?" she asked.


	4. Everlasting Drama

Ch 4- Everlasting Drama

House and Cuddy had spent the weekend together bonding and fucking like bunnies. Cuddy had called Wilson to arrange a changing of hands for Rachel on Monday at work and though he was a little disappointed that he had to spend his time exclusively with the baby instead of going to Chase and Cameron's wedding, he was ecstatic for his best friend and his boss. He had been telling them for years that they belonged together and something had finally clicked for them; Wilson was not the type of guy to stand in the way of true love, or the prospect of such.

Cuddy opened her eyes on Monday morning to the realization that she would have to leave the sanctuary of House's apartment and venture out into the real world once again. The world where she was the Dean of Medicine and House was the Head of the Diagnostics Department in her hospital. She was suddenly worried about how they would handle that situation. She showered quickly and got her clothes out of House's dryer. She was dressed and completely ready to go before he was even out of bed.

"Are you planning on going to work today?" she asked him, swatting his bottom playfully as he tried to continue sleeping.

"No. And now I'm dating administration so that shouldn't be a problem."

"House!" she admonished. "You shouldn't use your position as my…ahem…staff…to get out of work."

He groaned in response. "Are you really not going to let me sleep in?" he asked.

"What do you have to complain about? I know for a fact that you didn't have a hard weekend. You did the two things you like most."

"I didn't watch my soaps," he countered, earning a harder swat from his new girlfriend. "Come on, woman! You drained me!!! I have no bodily fluids left. I need to recuperate."

"Which I think you can do quite nicely in a hospital," she said with a smile, despite herself. "Out of bed or I won't come back into it."

"That's low," he told her, finally sitting up. "You should know I'm only doing this for the sick kids," he said as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

"Right." She patted his cheek and winked at him. "Keep telling yourself that."

He rolled his eyes. "Are you at least going to let me shower before I have to report to my duty as number one torture victim in hell?"

"Yes," she replied, rolling her eyes. He captured her lips in a gentle kiss, and then brushed past her as he hoisted himself up.

"Well, I'm off to the shower," he said wickedly. "I'll be all hot and wet and naked! Hope you can live with yourself for missing it."

"Don't tempt me," she replied. "I have to pick Rachel up and take her to my sister's place. I'll see you at work. And if you're not there by the time I get back from my sister's house, I'll send Wilson after you."

"Oh please, anything but that," House replied mock frightened. "I promise I'll be good!"

Cuddy laughed. "Just get your ass to work!" she told him before letting him get started on his shower and heading off to the office.

House did turn up for work, but he barely made the cut off for Cuddy's threat. He would have stayed in his apartment until Wilson showed up, and then convinced the oncologist to go bowling, but Foreman had called with the details of their new case. House was intrigued by the idea of a patient who was a midget circus performer convinced that he could pull his eyes out of the socket without doing damage to them, who just happened to present with anal bleeding. The possibilities had seemed to good to pass up, so he had gone in to work before someone else figured out the universally cool thing that was afflicting the poor circus freak.

"This is gonna be sweet!" he told Wilson on his way to his office. "You should come along." Wilson had agreed, of course. House's patients were generally entertaining.

"So how was your weekend," Wilson asked as he and House settled down in the diagnostics office after House ordered a full round of testing on the midget.

"Awesome." House had meant to sound sarcastic, but Wilson had known him long enough to realize that his friend had actually had a very good weekend.

"So, what did you guys do?" Wilson wanted to know.

"We braided each other's hair and talked about this hot doctor in the oncology department with the most adorable ties!" House replied, successfully pulling off the sarcasm this time.

Wilson rolled his eyes. "Fine. Don't tell me, but I've got a pretty vivid imagination."

"Why do you even want to know?"

"I had a pretty boring weekend, House. I was busy caring for Cuddy's child while you were out making another one with her. I couldn't even bring myself to watch porn while Rachel was asleep in the other room…I felt dirty."

House snorted. "Was 'little Jimmy' lonely?" he asked. "I know a few hot hookers I could set you up with."

"No, thanks. I'll find dates on my own," Wilson replied. "I'm just glad they won't be visiting you…" House chuckled in response.

Cuddy found Wilson in his office later that afternoon and spilled some of the details of the weekend she had shared with House. "I'm happy for you," he told her with a grin. "He seems to be doing better than I've seen him since Stacy."

"I think he might still be off the drugs," Cuddy confided.

"What? No pain meds at all?"

"I couldn't find any in his bathroom or kitchen. I only checked for curiosity reasons," she told Wilson. "Not a single pill!"

"What? That's amazing. Did he complain about the leg?"

"No. Do you think he could…I don't know…stay off the Vicodin? As in for good?" She dared get her hopes up for a moment.

"I don't know," Wilson replied. "Have you talked to him about it?"

"No. I thought I should talk to you first."

Wilson thought for a moment. "He's generally pretty sensitive about it after an overdose. You did help him detox, though. You should talk to him. I think he'd be ok with you asking about it."

"Could you try to bring it up casually?" she asked. "Just to try and test the waters?"

"You'd have to ask him a while from the time I did, especially if he doesn't give me information. He'd catch on otherwise."

"Right. Ok. But you'll try it?"

"Yeah. I'll catch him this afternoon." Wilson smiled at her. "Even if he's not off the drugs completely, you're really helping him. And I know you've been waiting on this for a while…"

Cuddy returned his smile. "I think I love him…"


	5. The Common Good

Ch 5- The Common Good

Wilson entered House's office wondering how he would be able to broach the subject of pain medication so soon after a close scrape with death. House was watching his soaps, which would at least have put him in a good mood, Wilson reasoned. The diagnostician looked up as the oncologist entered. "What's up?" House asked, turning back to the television.

"Not much. Just had some free time so I figured I'd catch up on our hanging out time," Wilson replied as nonchalant as he could manage. He settled himself down in a chair opposite House and turned his attentions toward the television.

"You want to go bowling tonight?" House asked. "Cuddy is spending time with the kid so I'm free."

Wilson nodded. "Sure. I haven't been in a while."

"Ok." House reverted his fixation to the appliance and Wilson resigned to the fact that he wasn't going to get any information out of House while 'General Hospital' was first and foremost on his list of things to do. He would wait until they went bowling to talk about the Vicodin that House was possibly not in need of.

"We're bowling tonight," he told Cuddy on the phone when he got back to his office. "I'll talk to him then." Cuddy thanked him for the update, and then they both went back to work. Both of them were anxious about what was going on with House and his opiate addiction.

The bowling alley was fairly empty when the two doctors walked inside, ready to knock some pins in the gutter to relax their bodies and minds from work. "You want a chili dog?" Wilson asked House after paying for a few games.

"Yeah. And a coke," the diagnostician replied choosing a lane and pulling his ball out of the bag. Wilson returned after a few moments with food and the two men fell into the familiarity of hanging out and eating, while tossing heavy marble at plastic pins.

"So how are you doing?" Wilson asked after a while, both had ordered a round of beers and things were going smoothly.

"Fine, and yourself?" House replied, looking strangely at Wilson. "Why do you want to know?"

"I mean, how are you doing without the pills? Since the detox?" Wilson told him.

"Surprisingly well," House said, realizing that Wilson was getting back into his old habit of being the caretaker. "But how did you know I was off the pills?"

"Wishful thinking," the oncologist replied. "I had hoped that after detoxing you would realize that you were better off without them."

House rolled his eyes. "Yes, mommy, I'm off the pills. I don't need them yet. When I need something I'll take it."

"Do you think you could stay off them for good?"

"I don't know. I thought we came to bowl, not chat about my medicinal habits."

"Just conversation," Wilson replied, carefully trying to drown House's suspicions. "How's Cuddy treating you?" He raised one eyebrow.

"Let's just say, dating the boss has some perks…" House replied, a grin returning to his face.

"Ohhh hooo hooo…did you have sex in her office?"

"That's my next option," House replied. "We were too busy groaning all over my apartment to get into the hospital…"

"There's always tomorrow…" Wilson winked.

"By God, there is," House replied. "Just make sure you don't come to chat about new equipment after lunch." House's voice had taken on a mischievous tone and Wilson could tell that the hospital would be ripe with administrative sweat the next day if it was left up to House.

The rest of the evening went well and Wilson made a call to Cuddy after his bowling experience with House to inform her of House's clean status. She was relieved and excited to hear the news, but couldn't talk long because House was on the other line. Wilson went to bed pleased with himself and with the way House and Cuddy were seeming to work out.

Tuesday afternoon found House on his way to Cuddy's office with a plan to detain her for a while. He locked the door after entering, to her surprise and intrigue and then winked at her seductively before crossing the room. "I'd like to propose a break from work, boss," he said with a laugh in his voice. Cuddy was only too happy to oblige her boyfriend and crossed the room to shut all the blinds in agreement…


	6. Love in the Afternoon

Ch 6- Love in the Afternoon

House's mouth was covering Cuddy's as soon as the blinds were drawn. He pressed his body against hers, pinning her to her door, and ran his hands along the length of her curves. She was wearing a skirt short enough to tickle his fancy, but tight enough so that he would have to take it off to access her full bottom. Her silk shirt was already half unbuttoned and hung off one shoulder by the time he spun her around to get better access to her clothes fastenings. She was panting against his neck as he tore her shirt off of her body, exposing her bra clad breasts. Her skirt was next to be discarded, landing somewhere between the bamboo tree and the couch, neither cared enough to pay closer attention.

"Oh, House!" Cuddy moaned as he sucked on a thinly veiled nipple. She pressed her chest up closer to his face and clung to his shoulders as his saliva soaked the material of her bra. He grew tired of the cotton taste on his tongue, desperate for a taste of her, and unfastened the bra as well. He buried his face in her breasts and hooked his thumbs under the elastic of her thong pulling down slightly, teasing her.

House finally removed the lacy undergarment and went back to nipping and licking her bosom, much to her relief. While one hand caressed the breast that he wasn't kissing, the other found her center and began rubbing her in slow circles. Cuddy was moaning out his name loudly, not caring if her assistant or anyone else could hear her through the locked doors and walls as long as House continued to touch her.

Cuddy pulled at House's t-shirt frantically as he slipped a long finger into her, pressing against her need. Stars exploded behind her eyes and she screamed out her approval, sliding to the carpeted floor and taking House with her. She held onto him tightly until she could breathe properly again, then stripped off his shirt and started working on unfastening his belt. "Somebody's anxious," House muttered in a deeply lustful tone. His erection was pressing painfully against the denim of his pants and it was a huge relief when she tugged the offending garment down his legs, giving him a bit more freedom.

His boxers were gone in no time, replaced almost immediately with Cuddy's mouth. She licked the length of him, pausing to flick her tongue over the head of his penis before taking the entirety into her mouth. House let his head drop back against the floor as her mouth worked his organ and her fingers started to move over his testicles. He was engorged more than he could remember being in quite a while and very sensitive to her every movement. She bobbed her head over him and the sweet friction was building up inside him. His muscles were tensing and he could tell it wouldn't be long before he too would experience the joys of orgasm. She stopped him just short of reaching his goal, however.

"You don't think I'm going to let you cum outside of me, do you?" she asked seductively and it took all House had not to explode at that moment. She made her way up his body, straddling his throbbing cock and running her hands over his chest and torso.

"Don't you care about carpet burn?" he asked. She sank down on him, simultaneously answering his question and clearing his mind of all thoughts that weren't concentrated on sex with her. She slowly started moving and he thrust up, desperate for more movement. She held him down with her palms, however, enjoying the look of desire in his eyes. Her movements picked up a bit of speed and he bucked harder, wanting to fill her full of his DNA. She wouldn't let him finish, however, wanting to draw out his pleasure to the maximum.

"Please," he said, gripping her hips, "Cuddy…Lisa…oh, God! I need you to fuck me."

The sound of his voice was like gasoline to the flames that threatened to consume her and she began riding him furiously, crying out with him as they clashed together. After a few moments she felt him fill her, crying out her name and she squeezed him with her inner muscles, wanting to give him everything she possessed. When it was finally over, she climbed off of him and lay beside him on the carpet, feeling the sting of the burn he warned her about covering her knees.

He turned to his side to take in the sight of her, sweaty and hair disheveled, but beautiful. "You're amazing," he said in a low voice.

"So are you, House."

"I'm pretty sure I'm going to be feeling the rug burn on my ass for a while though," he told her. She swatted him playfully.

"Would you rather get laid and have a little carpet burn, or not get laid?" she asked.

"I didn't say it wasn't worth it…"

"I love you, House," she said before realizing what she was admitting. Her eyes got huge and he looked at her carefully. "I…uh…excuse me," she said quickly, getting up. She grabbed her panties and shirt and headed for the adjoining bathroom, not wanting to see the rejection in his eyes. She stayed in the bathroom for nearly twenty minutes going over how she could have said things in her mind. When she returned to her office, determined to talk to him about it, he was gone. Her clothes were in a neat pile on her desk, but House was nowhere to be found.

Tears filled her eyes as she dialed Wilson's extension. "I think I messed things up, big time," she told him, trying not to sob. "I told him I love him…"

"I don't think you messed it up," Wilson replied.

"How do you know?" Cuddy asked. "He doesn't like that kind of emotional display, and probably not after a week of dating. He left my office!"

"I know because he's about to walk into mine," Wilson said. "I'll call you back." The phone clicked and the line went dead. Cuddy was left to wait out House's discussion with Wilson, not knowing what to do with herself and hoping against hope that House didn't hate her.


	7. Confessions of the Obsessed

Ch 7- Confessions of the Obsessed

"So, I just had sex with Cuddy in her office," House told Wilson, settling down in a chair in front of the oncologists desk.

"Really?" Wilson tried to sound as though he was a bit surprised.

"And then she told me that she loved me…" he trailed off and Wilson could tell something was on his mind.

"And…"

"And what? She told me that she loved me, got up and hid in her bathroom until I left. What the hell is that?"

"I dunno. Do you think she's worried about saying that? She's probably afraid of getting hurt," Wilson pointed out.

"She told me she loved me, and then practically took it back!" House said exasperatedly. "What am I supposed to do with that?"

"I don't think she was taking it back," Wilson tried again. "She was probably just worried about what you would think."

"What am I supposed to think? She proclaims her love for me, then runs away. It's like a girl with a high school crush."

"Oh, like you would do something much more mature."

"I would…I would at least stay in the room for a second to see if the girl I was after was at all interested in what I had just said. She didn't. It's just bizarre. She's obviously not serious about this and probably only said that to push me away."

"Why would she push you away?"

"Because she's not actually happy with our relationship. She really only wanted to keep me clean for legal purposes, then screwed my brains out for a week cuz she's been lonely for God knows how long."

"House, how long have you known Cuddy? That is so not her style."

"And what, pray tell is her style? Suck your dick, then eat your soul? That's the usual style for administration, isn't it?"

"Would you grow up and listen to yourself? You're the one treating this like high school. Go talk to her…tell her how you feel."

"Right, and have her laugh at me. If she had stayed she would have found out that I actually have feelings for her…then she would have been able to step on my scrotum until I did whatever she wanted…or would have tried, anyway. I'm just kind of glad that the manly God sent her into hiding before I told her that I…Never mind. I'm just going to have to avoid her until I get some kind of confirmation of her motives," he said as though it were the most rational thing in the world.

Wilson sighed. House had feelings for Cuddy, that much was evident…he possibly even loved her back, but was stuck inside his head. The diagnostician left for his own office and Wilson picked up the phone again, dialed Cuddy's number and waited for her to answer. "He's behaving like a child," Wilson replied. "Thinks you're playing him."

"I'm not…Wilson, I'm just scared."

"Yes, I know that…you need to tell him that."

"I can't," she said, tears starting to affect her voice. "He's already gone."

"No he's not. Get your ass up here and talk to him," Wilson told her. "And do it now, before he gets fully situated into his crappy mood."

Wilson hung up and Cuddy sighed. She didn't want to face House after spilling her guts out to him, then having him leave, but she also didn't want to lose what they had found. She took a deep breath and walked out of her office. She had to see him, no matter what the outcome. She could only hope that Wilson was right about him not hating her.

Cuddy took another steadying deep breath as she exited the elevator on House's floor. She made her way toward his office and saw him sitting with his hands in his head before she even got to the door. She steeled herself for whatever hail of abuse was sure to come. He looked up when she opened the door, then started riffling through some files on his desk.

"House," she said gently, hoping to catch his attention.

"A little busy here, come back when you have a good case."

"We both know you already have a case," Cuddy replied. "Stop messing with those files and look at me." He didn't look up however and she was forced to cross the room and stop his hand from sifting through even more files. He tensed at the touch of her hand and she sighed. "I know what happened earlier must have been…well unnerving, but I was afraid that you would reject me if I told you that I loved you after a week of dating."

"Jesus!" he half-yelled, pulling his hand away from her. "If you're going to lie to me, at least make it something believable. "We've known each other for 20 years, and you expect me to believe that you were scared I wouldn't believe you if you tried to show me your feelings? I've known that you were into me for at least 10 of those twenty years. You told me last week that you were into me way longer than that…it would have been natural for you to develop some feelings…and you weren't serious about it anyway or you would have stayed."

"It's been a while since I've let myself feel anything for anyone, House!" Cuddy exploded. "You think it's easy for me to pour my heart out all over anyone who shows interest? I know you make fun of me that way, but GOD…I didn't think you actually believed that."

"What am I supposed to believe?" House demanded, standing up. "That you love me and want to be with me? You've got a weird way of showing it."

"No…that can't be the case!" she said sarcastically. "I just spent a week with you, a weekend without my child for alone time with you, just because I wanted to play a joke on you!"

"Shut up! Just shut up, woman!" he yelled, bending down to yell in her face.

"Why don't you fucking make me?!?!?!" she returned. Without warning he slammed his lips down on hers, not caring that the team was watching from inside the outer office, not realizing that Wilson was standing in the door, ready to step between them if House got too pissed off, not remembering that they were supposed to be fighting. They had both snapped and were now fighting for dominance as their kissing became more and more heated.

"I'll just go," Wilson said loudly. The entwined coupled didn't seem to care what he did, so he left them alone and sent the team off to the clinic to give House and Cuddy some space.

"I love you House," Cuddy said slowly when they finally broke apart again. "And if you doubt me again, I'll cut off your balls."

He chuckled. "I love you too."


	8. Settling Old Feuds

Ch 8- Settling Old Feuds

"Why don't you come over tonight and hang out with me and Rachel for a while," Cuddy suggested to House before leaving for home. "I'll make dinner and we can put her to bed early." She winked suggestively and House felt his lower extremities tingle…one in particular twitched in anticipation.

"Sounds like a plan," he told her after a long kiss. "But could we leave out the Rachel part?"

Cuddy swatted at him. "No. I'd like you to spend some time with my daughter."

"I know, I know," he said quickly. "Just kidding." Cuddy smiled and kissed him again before disappearing from his office. They had been together nearly three months and she had just started feeling the need to include him in her familial endeavors. House didn't mind spending his time with Cuddy, but he was a little uncomfortable with the baby. Rachel was almost a year old and ordinarily he would have been ok with being around a non-talkative being, but he didn't exactly know how to react to Cuddy's non-talkative being. With a sigh he headed down the hall to invade Wilson's office and demand advice that he would most likely ignore.

"You seeing Cuddy tonight?" Wilson asked, straightening the stack of file folders on his desk. He was finished with his work for the day as well.

"Yes…and the cretin," House told him, settling himself onto the couch in a lounging position.

"Well I suppose we all have to endure hell sometimes," Wilson replied sarcastically. "What's with you? Usually you prefer people who don't blow hot air all the time."

"She does blow hot air, just not from the end that she eats with," House muttered.

Wilson rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"I don't know. That's the problem. I mean, I don't exactly make a habit of burping the little bundles of joy, but this one makes me uncomfortable," he confessed.

"Really?" Wilson raised his eyebrows. "Interesting."

"What is it? You've got that look…"

"You actually like her."

"I don't hate her…but I don't really think we go together like peas and carrots."

"Not Rachel, Cuddy."

"Well yes, that is an unfortunate side effect of long term sex festivals…" House began.

"You want to be with her, possibly forever."

"That would be the general idea, isn't it? Well I mean, at least 'til she gets so old those gorgeous breasts start to sag and…"

Wilson cut him off again. "No. You're uncomfortable with Rachel because you're nervous about making a move toward stability with Cuddy. Which means you want to make a serious move. You're in love with her."

"Don't talk like that," House replied. "You'll start some nasty rumors…like the one that someone wrote on the bathroom wall about you and those six strippers from 'Pussycats.'"

"This is real love. Wow…I'm happy for you."

"Please don't get all mushy," House asked. "I don't want to have to vomit on you before leaving to sit in my office and ponder out the weird mystery that is Cuddy's baby."

"There is no mystery," Wilson said with a grin. "You want to spend time with them…so do it."

"You know what," House said as though suddenly inspired. He swung his legs over the side of the couch. "I think I'll do that now." He walked out of Wilson's office to sulk in his own. Wilson grinned hugely. House was really in love!

Three hours after his chat with Wilson, House was holding a smelly baby as far away from his person as possible. Cuddy had asked him to change the child while she checked on the status of their dinner, but the offensive smell coming from Rachel's diaper was nearly gagging him. He was definitely not pleased. He did, however, want sexy time with Cuddy, so he laid the tiny creature out on the table and cautiously opened the sides of her diaper.

"WOAH!" he exclaimed as the full strength of her smell hit his nostrils. "I don't know if she's worth this kind of work," he muttered holding the soiled nappie between two fingers and depositing it into the special trash bin Cuddy had in the room specifically for smelly diapers and other baby products. House disgustedly took a handful of wipes and cleaned Rachel's bottom quickly, powdered her and put on a new diaper before plucking her off the table and settling her into her crib. She fell asleep as he watched her wriggle into a comfortable position, not minding her presence quite as much when she was fresh and clean.

"You ready to eat?" Cuddy asked, wrapping her arms around him from behind. He hadn't even heard her approaching and jumped a bit. She giggled. "The food's ready."

"Great," he said, keen to get away from the adorable faces Rachel was pulling and the sappy ones that Cuddy made in response. They ate the chicken parmesan quietly; most of the noise coming from the classical music Cuddy had turned on in the background.

"So, how was the rest of your day?" she asked him after taking a sip of red wine.

"Great," he said shortly. "I got the results back. The patient is responding to steroids. Probably back to his old self in a few weeks. Foreman's happy."

"That's good." She cleared her throat. "I wanted to ask you to come to my sister's place with me for Christmas dinner," she told him after a moment and another bracing swig of the wine. "Unless you had other plans…"

House nodded. "Ok. Should I bring a covered dish?"

"No. Just show up here at six next Thursday and we'll go." House's nerves didn't calm down until Cuddy had cleared the plates away and asked if he wanted to dance. He had snorted at first, but she had stood him up and placed his hands on her waist. He had reluctantly started moving a bit on the spot against the back of her couch and that connection had led him to kiss her. They had moved to the bedroom shortly after that and enjoyed a bout of slow sensual sex that House had enjoyed, but also found strangely tame. He decided to chat with Wilson about the experience the next day and hoped to hell not to get an overly sappy answer.

Wilson was, however, not someone he expected to change. "I think I need to freak her out or something," House had told his friend. "We're just getting…boring."

"It's only been three months," Wilson said. "And you're bored?"

"Don't act like you're surprised," House countered. "It's not like I'm easily entertained."

"I don't think you're bored," Wilson told him. "I think you're getting too emotionally close for your own comfort."

"Right and because of that I need to push her away?" House laughed. "Maybe I'm just bored."

"You're never 'just bored,'" Wilson told him. "You're never 'just' anything."

"I am magnificent…" House faux-preened.

Wilson rolled his eyes. "You're probably going to go against what I suggest, but I'll say it anyway: enjoy life with Cuddy…You don't have to have a rollercoaster of emotions going all at once to be happy. Do yourself a favor and try to avoid causing misery."

"Because I like being miserable," House retorted.

"I think you do…you might actually be a masochist…or at least a sadomasochist. Emotionally, anyway."

House sighed. "Why do I talk to you again?" He retreated to his office, determined to shake things up with Cuddy.


	9. Meeting in the Middle

Ch 9- Meeting in the Middle

House tapped his fingers impatiently on his desk. He had sent his team off to collect an array of samples from their newest patient, a forty year old soccer mom with onset paralysis. He suspected that she was simply using a form of cocaine that was somehow modified to be untraceable, but left his minions to do the work while he tried to come up with something that would spice up his relationship with Cuddy. He didn't want things to become mundane and if rattling her was the way to keep things fresh he was up to the task…he liked to be kept on his toes, anyway.

The problem with his current situation was that he had no ideas for rattling his girlfriend. Things were going very smoothly and she was even taking him to meet her family. He cared about her a lot, and didn't want to do something majorly offensive, but really wanted some excitement. The trick was to have something happen that would be borderline explosive, while not pushing his fair maiden over the edge of love with him. He pondered for a while longer, then not having any good epiphanies, he decided to kill some time with Wilson.

"She's taking me to meet her family for Christmas dinner," House informed his best friend.

"Am I supposed to be shocked that she would offend you so?" Wilson asked sarcastically, his desk cluttered up with unfinished paperwork.

"No…I just don't exactly know what to think about it."

"It's a good step in the right direction if you're serious," Wilson pointed out.

"Yes. But, again, boring. Serious equals boring…you know that…that's why you cheated."

"I cheated because I'm physically unable to sustain a relationship that isn't with you, since you killed off my chance with the female form of your breed, I'm pretty much doomed."

"Don't be such a spoil sport," House chided. "You could get a million girls if you wanted. And now you won't be bored, at least."

"Do you want to be bored or do you want a relationship?" Wilson asked, not looking up from his work.

"Both," House replied unwaveringly.

"Well find some way to work that out. I've got work to do…I have no better ideas."

House looked offended, which he was thoroughly displeased with Wilson for not seeing. "You expect me to come up with some crazy plan on my own?"

"You are the master of that game."

House sighed. "Yes, but you're my sidekick. The whole point of a sidekick is to get me out of the metaphorical writer's block mindset."

"Can't help you right now, House."  
"Fine. I'll go talk to Foreman. He'll probably have better ideas anyway." House hoped that the comment would sting, but Wilson simply snorted. He knew his friend better than to believe that House would ever include anyone else in brainstorming ideas to terrorize his girlfriend while keeping her in the position of girlfriend. House left Wilson's office empty handed and resigned to watching General Hospital instead of plotting. He decided that the show he would perhaps give him a brilliant idea and went to his office to hope for the best.

An hour later he turned off the television, just as empty of devious plans as ever. He sighed, hoping against hope that being with Cuddy wasn't taming him.


	10. Jingling her Bells

Ch 10- Jingling her Bells

House was dressed nicely standing outside Cuddy's house after having rang the bell several times to no avail. He tried again, starting to feel the extent of the New Jersey winter biting into his warm flesh and swearing under his breath about women taking too long. He was rewarded for his patience…or at least his waiting, by a kiss from Cuddy and nearly forgot all about the half hour he had spent out in the frosty Christmas air. He settled down on the couch with the newspaper watching Cuddy rush around the house looking for various things.

In true Christmas spirit, her sister expected her to cook a ham and bring it along as well as the gifts for the family. House rolled his eyes half a dozen times before pointing out that Cuddy was still wearing a slightly charred apron round her middle as she was pulling on her coat. The Dean of Medicine swore loudly, much to House's surprised pleasure, turned a light shade of pink for using foul language around Rachel, then set about righting the mistake, leaving House to handle the child.

All in all, the diagnostician would have much rather been in charge of the ham on the trip across town, but he was stuck with Rachel duties and ended up reluctantly calming her sniffles as Cuddy tried valiantly to remember everything that she needed to put in the car for the evening. When everyone was finally settled into Cuddy's sedan, House received another kiss, much to his pleasure, and then they were off. He listened to his girlfriend go on about her sister's flaws and children (which he would have also considered flaws, but didn't care to say it for fear of getting her started in on him), happy that she was at least not berating him.

Her demeanor changed almost the instant that they pulled into the driveway of the small house in the suburbs. House assumed it was all for the Christmas spirit or Cuddy would have taken one of the light-up candy canes and shoved it up her sister's presumptuous little ass for putting a single working mother with an entire hospital to manage to so much trouble. Much as House would have liked to see his lover sodomize her sister with a candy cane, he wanted the evening to go smoothly so that he could be the one to shake up her holiday.

House was pleasant to the four people who Cuddy called relatives and helped his girlfriend haul all of the gifts and the ham into the house, leaving the sister to take Rachel inside. Buck, Cuddy's brother in law, offered him a cigar and he stood outside in the biting air once again that evening to 'bond' with the fatter, less intelligent man. When he returned to the living room with Buck not far behind and beaming like an idiot, Cuddy shot him a relieved and very tired look. He determined that later that night, he would give her a back massage, as it looked as though she would need it.

The evening wore on and House listened to several non-amusing croquet stories from Buck and an even less amusing story about Amy, Cuddy's sister, locking her in the basement for nearly six hours when they were children. The food was mediocre, save for Cuddy's ham, but House held his tongue and even wished Buck, Amy, Christopher, and Samantha a happy holiday before he, Cuddy and Rachel left.

"I meant to ask before," House started on the way home after ranting for ten minutes about her boring, unintelligent family members; "Why do you celebrate Christmas? What kind of Jew are you?"

"Well you don't have to get rude," she replied, "but Buck is obviously not Jewish. I do my own celebration with Mom during Hanukkah, but Amy has chosen not to participate since she had kids. Buck doesn't want to confuse them…"

"Go figure," House replied, rolling his eyes.

"Hanukkah's over, but I'd planned on celebrating Christmas with you. Rachel's already had her celebrations."

"Ah. I should have picked her up a bag of diapers as a gift," he said sarcastically. "I got her a little jumper that Wilson couldn't stop fawning over instead. It's in my car with your stuff."

"You didn't have to get us anything," Cuddy said, smiling a real smile for the first time all night. "But thank you."

"You're my girlfriend and she's…your kid. I did have to get you something."

"Did you even get Wilson something?"

"Yes. I pay for his subscription to playboy every year…they get sent to my place and he picks them up there…"

Cuddy snorted. "Right. Those are Wilson's gifts."

"They are. Just check the labels next time you see one lying around. Occasionally I'll spring for a sweater too. Or a tie…he loves ties."

"So he does." Cuddy looked over at House in the passenger's seat. Rachel was already asleep in the back and they were only a few miles away from home. "Thank you for tonight," she said seriously. "I really appreciated it."

"You're welcome…I expect a nice reward, though…"

She laughed. "Fine, I'll break out the handcuffs…" House's eyes lit up, causing her to break into a fit of giggles. She pulled up in front of her house a few moments later and kissed House slowly.

"What say we take the squirt upstairs and do a little celebrating?" he suggested, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I'd say that sounds like a plan," she replied.


	11. Jingling her Bells part 2

Jingling Her Bells Part 2

House was smug when he awoke on Christmas morning wrapped around Lisa Cuddy. He snuggled his face into her hair, taking in the scent of her as he thought about the day that was to come. He would definitely have an exciting Christmas, he realized, going over his plan in his mind. He lay cuddling Cuddy until she started stirring, then he loosened his grip on her and allowed her to turn around and face him. She smiled up at him, her blue eyes twinkling alluringly. "How about some Christmas sex?" he asked in a seductive tone.

She giggled for a moment, but nodded. He was surprised; however, when after a few moments of kissing, she pulled away from him and got out of the bed. "Follow me for your first Christmas present of the day," she told him with a wink, walking toward the bathroom. She let her nightgown fall into a pool around her feet in the doorway, giving him a great view of her from behind, before disappearing into the adjoining room. House was only too pleased to oblige Cuddy's wishes.

Cuddy was turning the shower on when House walked into the room and he had to admit, turning him on as well as he got another lovely view of her naked form. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and pressed his erection into the cleft between her legs to show her just how much he was enjoying his first present. Cuddy laughed low in her throat and stepped into the tub, breaking the contact with him.

House stepped into the shower after her, not wanting to let her get away for a second after she had shaken him awake like no one had in his entire life. The spray was hot and hard, which only added to House's arousal as it pounded into Cuddy's back. She tipped her head back, getting her hair wet and pushing her breasts out for House to admire. "I could get used to a view like this," he told her, taking her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers and toying with them gently.

She sighed gently and pulled him closer, hands on his hips. His hardness pressed into her abdomen as he twisted her hard peaks. She opened her mouth in pleased rapture and he took the chance to insert his tongue inside. Their kissing turned sensual and he explored the contours of her mouth as his hands thoroughly examined her breasts, sliding down to trace her curves, then moved back to her ass to pull her closer to his needy body. "Someone's excited about Christmas," she commented, breaking the kiss for a moment.

House loved it when she talked somewhat dirty for him and her comment about his excitement was all it took for him to spin her around and bend her over. He spread her legs far apart and inserted a finger into her while his thumb teased circles around her clit. She moaned loudly enough for the neighbors to hear and replaced his finger with his cock in one swift movement. He pressed into her fully until he was buried inside of her warmth before pulling out and refilling her with his length once again. He continued the assault on her senses, pushing in as far as he could, then slowly pulling out and repeating the process, for several minutes. Cuddy loved the feeling of House within her, but wanted hot, hard sex, like the water of their shower and bucked against his movements with her body.

House held her hips in place to still her and kept up his teasing motions, determined to make her beg for him. It wasn't long before she was ready to do whatever it took to have him slamming into her until she could stand it no more. "House! Please!" she begged.

"Please what?" he asked, enjoying this little power over her.

"P-please…fuck me…"

"I didn't catch that," he told her. "What did you say?"

"FUCK ME!" she yelled out and he immediately responded. He pounded into Cuddy's body as the burning water poured over the pair of them. She met him thrust for thrust until the tingling sensation in her belly exploded and she screamed out his name, riding out her orgasm on his still pumping cock. House followed after her seconds later, pouring his seed into her waiting warmth.

They slid down to the floor together and tried to catch their breath as the hot stream of liquid continued to gush out of Cuddy's shower head. House kissed her shoulders and wrapped his arms around her midsection, still panting. "That was amazing," he told her. She nodded in response, still feeling the aftershocks of their lovemaking. Several moments later House stood awkwardly and shut off the water, then got out of the shower and toweled himself off.

"Where are you going?" she asked curiously, standing as well.

"It's Christmas," he replied. "I'm going to open gifts."

She rolled her eyes and grinned, taking the towel he offered. Typical House, she thought. Have an incredibly intense intimate moment, and then go find food and things that people buy for you. "I'll be there in a few minutes," she informed him. "I'm just going to get Rachel up so you can give her the jumper Wilson suggested you get her." House nodded, excited to put his plan into motion and still riding the high from the sex he had just experienced.

When Cuddy returned to the living room she found House waiting patiently for her. He had actually gotten Rachel two gifts, the jumper and a Minnie Mouse stuffed doll, which Cuddy unwrapped for the child first off. Rachel was deposited into her playpen with her doll and a sippie cup of orange juice and the adults took their turns opening things.

Cuddy took pictures of House holding up the sweater she had gotten him, and the autographed Hendrix guitar that she had found online, as well as a book on rare tropical diseases that she had gotten on a suggestion from Wilson. He was pleased with the turn out, but not as pleased as he was with her opening her things. He held up Cuddy's camera for her as she dug into the first box. Cuddy received a pair of expensive shoes, which she was pleased about and vowed to thank Wilson for, two tickets to the musical theatre, which she had to promise not to invite House to, and was in the process of opening the third gift when House asked her to stop.

She looked over at him curiously, but he announced that he had to 'piss like a racehorse' and she obliged him. He gathered himself in the bathroom, excited that she was about to open the thing that would shake her up the most, then returned to find her holding the medium sized box in her lap. "Go on," he instructed, picking up the camera again. She tore the wrapping paper off of the gifts furiously and opened the box. Inside she found a black teddy and black fuzzy handcuffs.

"You want me to wear this?" she asked, amused. House nodded a huge smile on his face.

"Keep going, there's something else in there, I'd like you to wear."

"Oh, you got the blindfold and leg shackles too?" she asked with a giggle as she took the negligee out of the box. She saw nothing but paper and had to dig around a bit before finding something hard. "House?" she asked, pulling the two carat diamond ring out of the papers.

"Yes?" he asked, pleased with himself as he took in her shocked expression.

"You? Want to marry me?" she asked, astonished.

"That would be the idea," he replied. Cuddy threw her arms around his neck and wept, surprising him. "I'm sorry…if I knew you'd be this upset, I wouldn't have done it," he told her as he awkwardly patted her on the back.

She looked up at him, eyes still wet and becoming redder by the second. "I love you," she said simply, slipping the ring onto her finger. Cuddy wasn't the only one shook up by the engagement, House's hands shook for the next hour and a half as Cuddy rushed about the house calling friends and family.


	12. Aftershocks of the Shakes

Ch 12: Aftershocks of the Shakes

"You actually proposed to her?" Wilson asked his best friend, astonished that House would take such a huge step so quickly.

"I mean to stir her up…rattle her a bit."

"Well I'm pretty sure it worked," Wilson replied with a grin. "You're actually engaged to Cuddy. "This is one for the record books."

"Stop gloating about it and tell me what I should do now…how can I fix it?" House asked.

"Fix it? You mean…you don't want to marry her?" Wilson was a bit confused.

"It's not that…I just didn't expect her to say yes…" House trailed off.

"You gave her a ring expecting her to say no?" Wilson asked. "You were testing her feelings for you, then. And she said yes, proving that she is in love with you."

"Either that or she wants to make me miserable."

"House, why would she use marriage as a way to make you miserable?"

"That's what they all do," House replied. "You should know better than anybody…oh wait, I forgot; you love marriage."

"She loves you, House."

"You'd damned better well hope so. Otherwise I'll be forced to commit murder or change jobs…murder is more likely since no one else would let me have my way."

"Stop being overly dramatic," Wilson chided. "You're getting married. This is a good thing. You've committed to someone. Congratulations."

"Thank you," House replied dryly.

"Look at the bright side," Wilson told him, "You'll get to plan another bachelor party." House rolled his eyes.

"Because that's all I ever want to do."

Wilson grinned. "You're going to like marriage…and Cuddy suits you."

"Right…wait…a bachelor party is exactly what I need. If she finds out I went crazy with fifteen strippers and tons of booze, she'll call the wedding off and we can go back to the way things were."

"If you care about her, you won't do that, House," Wilson advised. "The way things were before the two of you got together is how you'll end up: miserable and without anyone besides me who cares."

House sighed. "What can I do to keep her as my girlfriend, then?" House asked.

"Marry her," Wilson stated with a shrug.

"Thanks," House groaned. "You're a lot of help."

"I do what I can," Wilson sighed.

"You want lunch?" House asked him.

"Sure. I'm done with all the paperwork I have this week…no patients until 2. I can take a break."

"Good. I'm starving."

House sat in his office, bouncing his ball against the wall and thinking about what Wilson had said. It was true that Cuddy was happier than he had ever seen her, and he really did love her. He just wasn't sure he was ready to get married, just yet. His team was off testing a fifty year old man for every infection known to man and he just couldn't get into it for being lost in thought. He sighed and turned the television on, hoping to catch the end of General Hospital.

Life it seemed, would never be easy for House, because he was either bored or stepping across lines to see how far he could go. He took another sip of coffee and opened a bottle of vicodin. The pain was starting to get to him again. He looked at the perfect white pills, longing to take one to ease himself, but knew that he would be falling off the wagon into a pile of horse manure if he were to give in. He closed the cap and tucked the prescription bottle into his desk for safe keeping, then hobbled off down the hall toward the elevators. The least he could get out of getting married was sex, he reasoned, pressing the button for the ground floor.


	13. The Amazing Caterwauling Pup

Ch 13: The Amazing Caterwauling Pup

After spending a good hour and a half lounging in bed with Cuddy on Saturday morning, House decided to get up and take a shower. He was fairly surprised when she didn't offer to join him, but assumed she had simply gone back to bed…they had been up until nearly three in the morning, after all. Thinking of the night they had spent together got House a bit excited, but he wanted to give Cuddy a rest, so he took care of himself in the shower, thinking of her body covered in chocolate syrup and him with a bucket of fresh strawberries which needed some of the dark, velvety bliss to complete them.

When he finally emerged from the steamy bathroom nearly an hour later, he was surprised that Cuddy was nowhere to be seen. He wrapped the towel more firmly around his waist and limped out of the bedroom and into the living area. She was conspicuously absent there as well. He was about to call her name when he spotted a tuft of dark hair sticking up over top of the kitchen counter. He crept forward slowly, a smirk plastered across her face and ready to surprise her, but when he looked behind the counter, he found that the reason she was hiding was because she was straddling a naked oncologist who House knew all too well.

They seemed to get louder as he watched them together, Cuddy's head thrown back now, as thought she didn't care who saw her, riding Wilson like she was breaking in a young buck. Wilson's fingers were digging into Cuddy's hips and House was sure they would bruise, but Wilson didn't seem to want to slow her down or let her go. As House screamed into the uncaring room, things began to get hazy.

House jerked awake; startled that he had had such a vivid dream. Cuddy was tucked safely in his arms and he was left to catch his breath, wondering what he had eaten to give him such a nightmare. He certainly wasn't consciously concerned that Wilson would try to take Cuddy, Wilson was his best friend and an even bigger supporter of the relationship than he was. It was just strange that he had dreamed about it, he thought.

House looked over at the clock and noted that it was only 5 a.m. He and Cuddy had finished their long bout of raucous lovemaking at nearly 3 a.m., much like he had imagined in the dream, but he didn't think he wanted to beat off in the shower to see how things would turn out in real life. He hugged Cuddy tighter and closed his eyes again, hoping that the dreams of Cuddy with another man would quiet and he would be able to get some restful sleep.

When House reawakened it was nearly 10 in the morning and the sun was peeking through his heavy curtains to leave a bright trail of light on Cuddy's shoulder. He had thankfully been able to sleep without more dreams of Wilson screwing Cuddy in his kitchen, though he had been fairly restless. It seemed, however, that his tossing and turning hadn't offended his fiancé in the least, as she was slumbering peacefully against his side. He considered taking a shower, but remembered his last dream and decided to wait until Cuddy was awake to share it with him, just to be on the safe side.

Perhaps he was ready to fully commit his life to her, House thought to himself as he gazed at her from his position on his belly. She looked so beautiful when asleep that House wondered why she ever bothered waking up, he remembered how great she looked when awake and smiled, knowing exactly why she woke up. And this beautiful creature wanted him, he realized. 'What am I doing?' he asked himself. 'I should be completely thrilled that I've got the vixen of my dreams dying to marry me.' He drifted off again with a smile on his face, thinking about how lucky he was to have caught the attentions of the Dean of Medicine.


	14. A Lover's Musings

Ch 14: A Lover's Musings

When House reawakened he was pleased to find Cuddy's body curled around his side. He had been able to get some sleep, fortunately, and it was especially pleasing to find her so near him after the shock he had experienced during the early hours of the morning. He still wasn't all that keen on going into the shower without her beside him, as the memories of said nightmare were still too fresh, however, so he just lay with her for a while, admiring her features.

He liked the way she wrinkled her nose when she was displeased about something in her sleep. He thought it made her look a little more like a mortal that he could hold onto. He also liked the way her brow creased. She looked like a spitfire angel; he decided and grinned bemusedly to himself. One arm was wrapped around him and the other was tucked under her neck and he wondered if it would tingle when she awakened.

Much to his amusement he didn't have to wait long to find out. She stirred shortly thereafter and opened her eyes to meet his. "Morning," she muttered with a smile lighting up her eyes. He pretended disgust at the smell of her breath and she swatted him, but smiled again. "You'll just have to get used to it," she said.

"Right. That's like getting used to the odor of formaldehyde in bio…" House muttered. "Is your arm numb? I don't see how you could sleep on it like that."

"Just habit, I guess," she replied. "It's not numb at all."

"Oh. Well, good, I suppose." A thought struck him and he grinned wickedly. "How about taking a long, hot shower with me?" he asked. "I'd be willing to wash your back…"

"Tempting," she said with a smile, "but I've got to pick Rachel up from my sister's in less than an hour. She's working today."

House sighed exaggeratedly. "Fine…I suppose I'll have to endure the steamy pounding rhythm of the hot water all by my lonesome." His eyes glinted. "Or maybe I'll just call Wilson to help me out…he'd let me wash his back."

Cuddy snorted. "Wilson's probably already showered and sitting in his living room with breakfast and the stack of case files that he hauled home in his briefcase," she replied.

"I could definitely tempt him, though. He needs a break."

"Well, you do that. I'm going to go get my baby and do a few things around my house. You could come over later if you want to see me."

"Right…with the munchkin clinging to your side…" House feigned disgust.

Cuddy smacked him for real this time, hard enough for a sound to echo a bit and House looked at her annoyed. "In most amputation procedures they ask for a reason," he pointed out. "I'll just tell them it was due to trauma caused by an overzealous hooker." She threatened to smack him again, but settled for rolling her eyes and peeling herself off of him to get up.

"Call Wilson. I'll see you for dinner tonight," she told him.

"Fine…but I'm bringing Wilson too!" House declared.

"Ok. As long as you think you can survive a night without sex…"

"You wouldn't…" He narrowed his eyes.

Cuddy quirked one eyebrow in response. "Wouldn't I?" she asked. In truth she wouldn't and they both knew it, but House decided not to point that out. "Fine. He can watch Rachel while we get dirty on the couch. Don't tell him the end part, though."

House chuckled and said goodbye to his fiancé before watching her ass until she was gone from his sight. He reluctantly got out of bed and into the shower, pushing all thoughts of Cuddy and Wilson having sex in his kitchen out of his mind and quickly getting it over with. He dried off and slipped boxers on before deciding that he wasn't going to put pants on until he had to and going to the kitchen for some coffee.

The diagnostician settled down in front of the television with his coffee and a bag of Doritos, flipped through the channels for twenty minutes, then picked up the phone to try Wilson's home number. The oncologist answered on the second ring. House didn't feel like pointing out that his friend was a loser for waiting on his call and answering on the second ring, feeling that it was too easy and instead invited him over to have a few beers and watch the monster truck rally he had taped the previous night. Wilson said that he would be over in a few moments, leaving House to find a tshirt.

The men spent the day arguing over whether or not 'Bone Crusher' would be able to do much damage to 'The Obliviator' and drinking. They showed up on Cuddy's doorstep for dinner at 6 sharp and were welcomed by an eye roll and the smell of chicken. Wilson was more than happy to hang out with Rachel while House attempted to score, though he wasn't much better than Wilson in situations of intoxication when it came to lovemaking. He and Cuddy had a short tryst in the laundry room, then straightened their clothes and returned to the living area to Wilson and Rachel.

As House and Cuddy settled in for the night after saying goodbye to Wilson and tucking Rachel into her bed, she turned to study his face. "When do you think we'll be able to make it official?" she asked him.

"I'm pretty sure you can't adopt someone so close to your age," House replied. "Besides, Wilson still has both of his parents."

Cuddy made a face and snuggled closer to her man. "You know what I mean. Do you want to try and set a date?"

"I dunno. Do you have any specific time that you want to get married?" he asked.

"I'd like to do it in the fall. We could get married at the end of September and still have the ceremony outside, if it's not too long. That way the leaves would just be turning and the color would go nicely with the burgundy bride's maid dresses."

"Who are the bride's maids?" he asked.

"My sister, I suppose. And I've asked Cameron and Thirteen."

"Who are ok with wearing burgundy?"

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Yes. It's my wedding. They'll wear what I want."

House grinned. "I like a woman in control…"

"So what do you think? September 29?" she asked. He could tell that she was holding her breath and realized that she'd been thinking about the details for a while.

"Sure. That's fine," he replied after a few moments. "I guess I'll let Wilson know."

The two soon-to-be married doctors fell asleep that night thinking of their impending vows, one with an abundance of excitement, the other only wanting his bride to be happy.


	15. When the house is arockin'

Ch 15: When the House is a-Rockin'…

"So who's going to be the best man?" Wilson asked, more out of the desire to hear House deem him his best friend in the world than real curiosity. House knew exactly what he was fishing for, however.

"I dunno," the diagnostician said, tapping a finger to his chin. "I was thinking of inviting Blew the janitor and he could certainly clean up after the whole thing's over…" Wilson shot him an annoyed look and a smile broke out over his face. "Oh please, Jimmy, would you be my best man?" he asked sarcastically.

"I'll think about it," Wilson replied, trying to gather some of his self-respect back up. "If I do the bachelor party we're having that alcoholic ice cream again."

"Great," House said with a grin. "I was hoping you'd say that."

"But no strippers."

"What?" House was flabbergasted. "Did you not pay attention to the speech I gave Chase last year about the day before versus the day after? Do you want my marriage vows to be meaningless?"

"House," Wilson started, but was cut off again.

"Maybe I will ask Blew; he'd at least let me choose the strippers…"

"Fine," Wilson conceded. "But I'll be watching you like a hawk."

"A drunken, half-naked hawk if I have anything to say about it. And I do. Cuz it's my bachelor party." House stood, satisfied with the way the conversation had gone.

Wilson sighed. "Have you told the team yet?"

"Do they need to know?"

"Do you want anyone to populate your side of the aisle?"

House rolled his eyes. "Well now, you've got me pegged, haven't you? That's all I care about…how many people are on my side of the aisle.

"Don't be an ass," Wilson reprimanded. "Tell the team and they can come to fill some of your seats, if you aren't going to ask them to be part of the ceremony, that is."

House snorted. "The only one I would want near the alter would have been Kutner and he went and shot his chances months ago…"

"You're very poetic, you know," Wilson said sarcastically. "Perhaps you should give up medicine for a quaint little village in Europe where your art can flow freely."

"You'd like that," House replied. "Because you know I'd drag you along." The older man smirked. "Don't be pushing my bride out just yet…I haven't even claimed her properly yet."

"I'm going to get back to this paperwork," Wilson said, deciding it was time for House to actually do some work. "I'll be at Cuddy's for dinner tonight and we can discuss pushing her out of your life more easily if she's distracted getting us food."

"Good plan," House said conspiratorially. "See you then, jew…I mean blue fox." Wilson rolled his eyes and watched his best friend pretend to sneak down the hall to his own office. He couldn't help but smile at the fact that House had actually set a date, though. He had really thought House would find some way to screw things up. "There's still a few months, though," he said to himself, hoping that House would be able to hold out that long without pissing Cuddy off.

"None of you are working September 29," House informed his team later that day while they were finishing up the differential for their current patient.

"Why not?" Foreman asked suspiciously.

"Gala event. You're all invited due to the queen's request…"

"You set a date?" Thirteen asked him.

"That's layman's terms, yes."

"Congratulations," Taub said.

"Yeah, yeah…just get me something good for a wedding gift." He dismissed his fellows then returned to his office to ponder the implications involved in his impending nuptials.


	16. A Bump in the Road

Ch 16: A Bump in the Road

House was growing restless once again. It had only been a month after the date had been set and he had to wonder if he really deserved the happiness that he was about to receive. Valentine's Day was nearing and he was also in a dilemma about what to get Cuddy for such an event. Wilson would be no help in this situation as he generally gave his women his credit card for the day and let them have at it, ending the night with food and sex. The more House thought about the whole situation, he less he was looking forward to it.

He avoided Cuddy around the hospital, falling back into his old habit of dodging clinic duty by hiding in an exam room with his game boy, the soap opera channel on, and perhaps a meal that he had stolen from the staff refrigerator. A patient wandered in occasionally and he was forced to deal with them by putting off their treatment in favor of having them entertain him for a while. Wilson found him quizzing a young brunette with perky breasts about cancer awareness and suggesting that he show her how to do a self exam, which would have been perfectly normal had she not come in with a head cold.

"What are you doing?" the oncologist asked as the young woman put her bra back on. "Can I talk to you outside?" Wilson avoided looking at the breasts as he ushered House out into the hall. "Are you trying to get Cuddy to break off your engagement?" he asked House exasperatedly.

"No. I'm just bored," House replied.

"I don't think checking out an eighteen year old girl's breasts is the best way to cure that boredom unless you want to be single again," Wilson pointed out.

"Cuddy's busy in her office. I haven't been laid all week, give me a break."

"Right. Your fiancé will give you a break…she'll break your unfaithful parts right off of your body."

House rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll stay away from the breasts of female patients," House started.

"And the asses!" Wilson told him.

House sighed. "Why did you have to come down here and ruin my fun?" the diagnostician asked. "Bored?"

"No. I came to ask you what you were planning to do for Cuddy for V-day," Wilson said. "I wasn't expecting to walk in on a dress rehearsal."

"I don't know what I'm going to do," House admitted annoyedly. He couldn't see why Wilson would have such a problem with him looking at other women. It wasn't as though he was in a relationship with Wilson.

"Well you'd better find something good, cuz the word is, Cuddy's getting you tickets and backstage passes to the Stones concert in September."

"Seriously?" House asked, his eyes lighting up.

"Yeah. So find something good. Fast," Wilson advised.

"Do you have any suggestions?" House wanted to know.

"No. You know how I satisfied my Valentine's Day requirements with women."

House rolled his eyes once more. "I'll just ask the team. They're probably a bit more helpful than you anyway..." House headed off in the direction of the elevator, leaving his best friend to go back into the exam room and prescribe cold medications for the girl who had bared her breasts for House's entertainment. Much to Wilson's pleasure he received her number in return.

House had questioned each member of his team about what they were planning for Valentine's Day and much to his annoyance, none of them were extremely helpful. They were all either loathe to give up their secrets or more interested in why he was interested. He decided to try Chase and Cameron for ideas, knowing that the new Mrs. Chase would most likely still help him out no matter what he needed.

As he suspected the prettier Chase told him to bugger off, but he found the wifey in the E.R. with a grin plastered all over her face. "You really want my help?" she asked, her eyes aglow.

"Not really, but as you're my last option…" House trailed off, hoping to quash her spirit a bit. She wasn't fazed, unfortunately, due to her many years of dealing with him.

"Take her out for a nice dinner and buy her some jewelry," she replied, the sickeningly bright grin never leaving her face. "She'll like it and you'll get some sex out of the deal. What's she getting you?"

"Not very original," he told her, storing the information away for later use. "And she's apparently getting me tickets and backstage passes for a Stones concert."

"Nice. Make it really expensive jewelry." House rolled his eyes, and turned to walk away, but couldn't help smirking as he made his way back to the elevators to gloat to Wilson about his plan.

"Do you know how to buy jewelry?" the oncologist asked. "Or if she prefers gold or silver, and what kind of stones."

"Don't need to know," he told his friend. "I've got lackeys for that kind of thing." And as soon as he returned to his office he sent Taub to spy on his fiancé for clues as to her preferences. Satisfied with himself, House turned on the television and flipped through channels until his spy returned with a suggestion of silver jewelry with sapphires for Cuddy.

"She has a silver chain," Taub explained. "And the sapphires would probably go really well with her coloring. What month was she born in?"

House looked at his calendar, annoyed that Taub had gotten so into the whole thing, but pleased to have the information he wanted. "October," he replied.

"Not her birthstone, but it'll do," the shorter man said with a grin, returning to the outer office to spread information about House's Valentine's Day with his colleagues. To his surprise, House was pleased with Taub's work and with the ideas for a nice romantic day with his future wife.


	17. Love, Loss, and Lifelong Dreams

Ch 17: Love, Loss, and Lifelong Dreams

In the days preceding Valentine's Day, House found himself getting excited about the whole affair. He wasn't sure if it was because of the possibility of being close to one of the most influential bands in music history, or if he just liked the idea of spoiling Cuddy a bit, but he almost smiled thinking about the pretty bracelet he had gotten Cuddy. Wilson had gone with him to pick it out and had also suggested a dozen roses, which House was quick to buy as well.

The diagnostician sat back in his chair tossing his ball against the wall as he daydreamed about the look on his fiancé's face when he presented her with the amazing things he had chosen for her. He was very pleased with himself upon reflecting for a bit, and even got up to check on the status of the patient. "He went home this morning," Thirteen informed House upon his request for patient information. "You've been hiding in your office all morning thinking about Cuddy's ass and missed his sending off."

"Well there's a lot of it to cover, thinking about it takes a while," he retorted, referencing Cuddy's hind quarters and interested in changing the subject in hopes of being clever enough to get away with being a bit sentimental. "Do we have a new one?"

"Taub's already checking the E.R.," she told him with a grin.

"Good. I might keep you kids around for a while longer."

"Good to hear that I've got some job security." She rolled her eyes.

"Where's Foreman?" House asked.

"I think he's taking lunch early," Thirteen replied and House noticed her face drop a bit. "He's got a meeting with some drug rep this afternoon."

"Ah. Why aren't you with him?"

"I'm not hungry."

"And what about this rep? You going with him to that?" House asked searching her face.

She was spared answering however when Taub burst into the room and began rattling off patient status information excitedly. "42 year old lawyer came in to the E.R. last night with a broken leg; she's now bleeding from her eyes."

"I'll get a patient history," Thirteen offered quickly.

"We've got one…had one from last night when she was admitted," Taub told her, a bit confused.

"Everybody lies. And they probably didn't go into much detail on a broken leg," she responded, grabbing the file and hurrying out.

"Go with her," House instructed the bewildered looking ex-plastic surgeon. Taub turned around and followed the female doctor out of the room; not wanting to know about the glint in House's eyes. The older man returned to his office to go over the last 10 minutes' events in his head.

House knew that something was bothering Thirteen and that she wouldn't give up any information without a fight, but he wanted to lull her into a false sense of security about the matter so he could get extra shock value out of the truth when it emerged. He considered the possibility that Foreman was cheating on Thirteen, which seemed to be the obvious choice, and wondered why Foreman would want to leave someone as exciting and attractive as the female doctor on House's staff for some pharmacy representative who wouldn't be nearly as interesting, else she wouldn't have become a drug rep.

House thoroughly enjoyed his Valentine's celebration with Cuddy, Rachel having been dropped off with a baby sitter for the evening, but he couldn't get the mystery surrounding the relationship between Foreman and Thirteen out of his head. After having known him for 20 odd years, Cuddy could tell something was on his mind and asked him about it, but he brushed it off and put all his efforts into getting her out of her pretty, very expensive black dress.

She 'ooohed' and 'ahhhed' about the bracelet, much to his amusement and way beaming when he presented her with the roses later on and he pushed his other thoughts back deep into his subconscious so he could focus on the excitement of receiving backstage passes to see Mick Jagger. His fellows would have to wait until morning, he decided, wrapping Cuddy in his arms and presenting her with a deep, passionate kiss.


	18. The Rules of Fame and Infamy

Ch 18: The Rules of Fame and Infamy

House lounged around his apartment in his boxers and socks for the better part of the day on Sunday, having spent the previous night wrapped up in his fiancé. She had dismissed him to get some things done regarding Rachel and her house early in the morning, much to his displeasure, so he had decided to rebel a bit. He considered skiving off work the next day, but his patient was becoming sicker and more interesting, and his team seemed to be barely holding together, so he resigned to pouting into a bottle of beer with Wilson Sunday night.

"I think Foreman's cheating," he disclosed as his best friend and star oncologist settled in with their large pepperoni pizza.

"On you?" Wilson asked. "That whore."

"No, not on me…he'd better not be dipping into another diagnostician's team, anyway. I think he's stepping out on Thirteen."

"Why are you so interested?" the younger man asked around a bit of the gooey goodness that was their dinner.

"She told me he was meeting with a drug rep," House said significantly.

"So."

"So, she's not invited to come along," House replied, sinking his teeth into a slice as well. "Ebony and Ivory are near calling it splits! They'll never have a montage of caramel and toffee offspring!"

"That's a tragedy in your world, is it?" Wilson asked, one eyebrow raised. "I know you like to get inside people's heads, but maybe you should leave this one alone. Unless you want to have to find another team, that is."

"Well I could do with replacing Taub…" House mused.

"Why don't you focus on your relationship with Cuddy to take your mind off things?"

"She reminds me of work. I work with Foreman and Thirteen…"

"Not for long, if you keep this fanatical nonsense up."

"Well what am I supposed to do? Let him ruin a perfectly good thing just so he can get a few tabs of hydrocodone out of some sleazy hospital scrounger?" House asked.

"You didn't seem to have a problem with 'sleazy hospital scroungers' when you were the one getting the drugs out of the deal," Wilson pointed out.

"That's different. I wasn't involved."

Wilson rolled his eyes skyward and replied by pointedly biting into another slice of pizza. House narrowed his eyes, but let Wilson stew for a bit, ignoring him in favor of food and the cheesy porn he had rented from the video store. "You going to keep your thoughts to yourself, now?" Wilson asked finally after nearly ten minutes where the only sound in the apartment was a blonde bimbo yelling out 'oh yes, yes oh yes!' to a guy with a mullet as he pounded into her ass. "Might be a nice change actually," the oncologist thought aloud.

"I'd be more inclined to talk if you were interested in the subject matter," House said shortly. "You used to be more fun!"

"And you used to be single. I hope this isn't another ploy to throw Cuddy off track with the wedding by focusing all your energy on some miniscule thing Foreman is doing in his relationship. If you really want her…"

"I know," House cut him off. "I've got to keep her happy…blah, blah, blah!" It was his turn to roll his eyes. "This isn't about my fiancé or approaching nuptials."

"Ok," Wilson replied. "Just wanted to be sure you had YOUR best interests in mind."

"Yes, Mommy," House said sarcastically. He sighed. "This porno is a bust. We should order the expensive stuff next time. Or find one with Asian girls." Wilson didn't reply, figuring it was best to let House cool off in regard to their earlier discussion before going into a tirade about the declining quality of adult entertainment with the master of movies.

Monday was less than pleasing where work was concerned for the bored diagnostician. He found out that the patient's broken leg had stemmed from alcohol abuse mixed with a rare mushroom allergy and solved the case, before moving on to studying Foreman's interactions with his girlfriend. He was able to spot nothing out of the ordinary between the two and wondered if Thirteen had been overreacting to something the previous Friday. He sighed and turned on his television, watching whatever happened to come on until deciding that Cuddy would be more fun to focus on.

He sent his team off to scour the building for interestingly sick people, then headed down to her office, locked the doors, drew the blinds, and hung up the phone before she was done with her conversation with her sister about the next weekend's activities. Before she could question his motives, however, he had stripped down to his boxers and was waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Care for a midday romp?" he asked in a seductive a voice as he could manage.

Less than a minute later he had her spread out on her desk fully nude and was easing into her tight body. He took his frustration about the decidedly uninteresting quality of the Foreteen relationship and channeled it into animalistic enthusiasm and plunged into her over and again, harder and harder until she was practically screaming his name. His orgasm followed shortly after hers and he lay still inside her on the desk for fifteen minutes basking in the afterglow of their heated session.

"I've got a meeting at 1," she said breathlessly as she kissed his collarbone.

"I'll meet you in exam room 3 for round two at 2," he told her. Smirking to himself he returned to his floor in a good mood. He spotted Wilson going into his office and noticed the blood red tie and his heart nearly skipped a beat. Wilson always wore that tie when he was doing something he shouldn't be doing. It was a subconscious thing that House had yet to inform him about as it was very useful. House returned to his own office and tried to come up with something that would fit the tie mood.

It seemed his let down about the Foreteen situation had been replaced by a new mystery. House decided that he would get to the bottom of the tie situation, starting the moment his next session with Cuddy ended that afternoon.


	19. The Tale Tell Tie

Ch 19: The Tale Tell Tie

House zipped up his trousers, still feeling the joy of orgasm Cuddy had just presented him with moments before. She was a bit curious about his hasty departure as he was usually up for a bit of foreplay after sex in hopes of getting a second go round. He informed her of an urgent patient matter and she sighed in resignation. She would be his wife and the love of his life forever, but he would always be a diagnostician, she realized. He left after kissing her lightly on the mouth and promising to do his duty to her more thoroughly that night.

House was nearly skipping as he made his way to Wilson's office. He could tell that his friend was in a good spirits by the sparkle in his eyes as House entered, unannounced of course. "Someone's in a good mood," he commented, settling himself down in the chair across from Wilson's desk and propping his feet up.

"Well someone has reason to be," Wilson replied. "Someone has a date tonight."

"Really?" House asked. He was a bit put off as it was usually more of a game of tug of war trying to get information out of the head of oncology, but he wanted to know who the lucky girl was nonetheless.

"Just a girl I met at a conference last week. She came in with a few guys from the Princeton General team and we just hit it off." Wilson grinned, apparently sharing everything on his mind, but House knew better. The tie was a dead giveaway that his best friend was doing something scandalous.

"Really. Great." He forced a smile and waited for Wilson to respond. Instead the oncologist simply signed a few more papers and stood up.

"I've got to go get my suit for tonight, so I'm off early," he explained to House. "I'm taking her to the ballet tonight."

"You hate the ballet," House pointed out.

"She loves it, so I'll suffer," Wilson replied.

"Planning on getting something more interesting later out of your arrangement?" House asked, a silly look on his face.

"Maybe. It's been a while. I'll respect whatever she wants though." He could tell Wilson was excited however, almost as if sex was guaranteed. He chose not to comment on that, however and stood as well.

"I guess I'll let you off. You really should try doing what you want for a change," House tried his best annoyed voice, hoping that he came off as arrogant as ever when it came to Wilson's nicely played exploits which usually meant spending lots of money on something he hated to get women into his bed. "More fun that way."

"I'll try to remember that," Wilson replied, taking the bait and rolling his eyes. House walked out of the office after his best friend and watched him down the hall, wondering whom he would really be boinking come nightfall.

Two weeks passed without further hint of Wilson's love life coming to light. House found himself frustrated and had searched the entirety of the log of female staff for Princeton General, noting that several women were acquainted with his best friend. None of them were seeing him, however, that was for sure. He was getting a bit obsessed and Cuddy ended up finding out after trying to lure him to bed one night and finding that he'd rather sit up and think about 'stuff.' She told him he was crazy and that he should just forget about it and let Wilson have his secret, but House couldn't let it rest.

Tired of trying to dissuade House from further prying into his friend's life, she offered to talk with Wilson and see if she could get any information out of him. She took him to lunch and returned home to her fiancé and baby that evening with no more information than House had already scrounged up.

"What is he hiding?" House asked himself aloud for the hundredth time. No answer came to him in epiphany form and he was left to brood while Cuddy fed Rachel.

"You really need to let it go, House. It's like all you care about is Wilson's love life and ours has gone out the window!"

"I have to know!" he returned heatedly. That had been their first fight as a couple. Cuddy had called him an obsessive pervert, hell bent on knowing everything about everybody and he had called her clingy, which had earned him a week without sex, after which he was even more frustrated about the Wilson situation.

"Please give it a rest," she begged him one night. She was wearing a very sheer night gown and he had been inclined to put of his brooding until the next morning.

A bit of enlightenment came to him the next day in the form of an argument between Thirteen and Foreman. House just happened to catch the end of their conversation.

"You were out all night again!" Foreman was saying when House recognized their voices from around the corner. "What am I supposed to think?"

"That I need some privacy, maybe?" Thirteen had thrown back.

"We move in together and now you need privacy?"

"I don't want to talk about this," Thirteen had said.

"Would he make you talk about it?" Foreman had demanded roughly.

"No!" Thirteen had said before quickly adding. "There is no he. And no she either. Just me needing some time."

"Fine," Foreman had practically spat. "I'll be visiting my parents this weekend. You can have your time then. Monday I want an answer." The conversation had ended there and House had gone back to his office to think about the exchange he had just witnessed. Apparently there had been something going on between Foreman and Thirteen that was causing problems. And she had been the one stepping out, he reasoned.

Suddenly an idea hit him and his mouth dropped open. "No…" he half gasped.


	20. Cranking it up a Notch

Ch 20: Cranking it Up a Notch

House had an all-knowing smirk on his face when he went into the office, if his fellows noticed, however, they didn't say anything. He figured Foreman and Thirteen were still steaming about their earlier fight and Taub was just not intuitive enough. He was therefore able to order them around presumptuously and take a bit of time to plan out how he would reveal his newfound knowledge about the PPTH love triangle to his friend, who just happened to be one third of that triangle.

He avoided Wilson for the majority of the day, taking lunch alone in the clinic where he was supposed to be seeing sick patients. There were only a few pauses in his leisure time, when an elderly man with early signs of prostate cancer walked in by mistake and House had to send him upstairs for testing, and later when a young couple brought their child in with orange tinted sputum. House was very pleased with himself for having only seen 2 patients in his four hour clinic shift.

The diagnostician left the dreaded clinic at four p.m. and waltzed into his fiancé's office. She looked a bit stressed so he suggested she have a lie down on the couch. She was pleasantly surprised when he set about massaging her feet and legs. Knowing that he was in an exceptionally good mood after his two week period of being thoroughly intolerable, she had to wonder why he was so pumped up. "You haven't been dipping into the opiate well again, have you?" she asked half jokingly.

"No. I'm completely clean. I just have a piece of information that has turned my frown upside down, so to speak."

"And literally," she said, sitting up when he abandoned his efforts on her lower extremities. She was a bit sorry she asked about his mood as it put him off rubbing her feet, but he started talking and she had to admit that he had discovered a great bit of gossip. "Wilson and Thirteen?" Cuddy asked skeptically after he had explained his findings.

"That's right. Who knew the love machine had it in him to go for a younger, wilder woman," House replied with a smirk. Cuddy had to smile as well, not just because of Wilson's apparent sexual exploits, but because House had the twinkle back in his eyes.

"Well I'm glad you got to the bottom of that mystery," she told him. "But does Wilson know you know?"

"Haven't seen him all day. I avoided him really…didn't want to let the feeling of my joy escape too quickly, especially when he is going to be all over my case not to open my mouth to the rest of the hospital." House settled himself on the couch beside Cuddy.

"Well, for good reason, I suppose. He's helping Thirteen cheat on Foreman."

"And he's a department head, sleeping with a younger doctor," House pointed out. "It might seem to the public like she's in it to get promoted."

"We can't exactly say much," Cuddy said a bit sheepishly.

"But it's obvious I don't want a better position."

"I could still give you raises or something to that effect," she replied.

"But you won't," House told her confidently. "Your conscience would be too much for you to bear."

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Yes, some of us have morals…"

House got up. "I'll see you tonight for dinner," he told her. "Right now, I have to ruin what was shaping up to be a great evening for my best friend."

"You say that with too much enthusiasm," she said with a grin.

"It's not every day I get to say it," he reasoned. House kissed Cuddy lightly, and then took his leave, making a big deal of zipping his trousers on the way past the nurses' station. He did have a reputation to uphold, after all. He stepped out of the elevator on his floor and walked straight to Wilson's office, a bounce in his step.

"You look jolly," Wilson told him as he flopped down on the couch next to the window.

"Well Christmas has come waaayy early for me," House told him significantly.

"You were in one of the worst moods I've ever seen yesterday, what's changed your mind?" Wilson asked suspiciously.

"Aren't you happy for me?" House feigned hurt.

"Well let's have it. Why are you so pleased? Put a farm of fire ants down Foreman's pants?"

"No, but that's an excellent suggestion!" House beamed. "If I ever said you were boring, I take it back."

Wilson snorted. "You'll be changing your tune later, most likely."

"Oh, I don't think so," House replied, a huge smile still splitting his face. Wilson narrowed his eyes. "You're quite the opposite of boring, actually."

Wilson's eyes started to grow huge for a moment before he was able to control them and take a deep breath. "What are you talking about?" he asked, taking House's bait.

"While I've been off having a ten month love in with the boss, you've been doing my protégé under the table. Well not under the table exactly…or did you?"

"House?"

"Oh, no. I've got all the proof I need. You're on Thirteen every night while poor Foreman's off at his NAACP meeting."

"House!"

"Bounced back from that little failure you had with Amber," House said smugly.

Wilson was thoroughly flustered. "If you tell people, we'll both lose our jobs and Thirteen will be screwed."

"By you, I presume."

"By the world. She's six weeks pregnant, House."

The smile dropped from the diagnostician's face and he simply stared at his best friend. "By whom?" he finally asked.

"She doesn't know…which is why you'd better keep your mouth under control. She was going to wait a few months and have a paternity test…then decide how she was going to handle things."

House was speechless for one of the few times in his life. How had he missed signs that Thirteen was pregnant? "What are you going to do?" he asked his friend.

"If it's mine, I'll take care of her. Obviously if it's Foreman's he'll have some claim of it…she still wants me, but doesn't know exactly what to do if it turns out to be…" Wilson trailed off.

"A s'more?"

"Yeah, House. A s'more."

"Congratulations?" House tried. He had definitely not seen that twist coming.


	21. Drawing the Lines of Battle

Ch 21: Drawing the Lines of Battle

It had been nearly a month since House had discovered that Thirteen was pregnant, quite possibly with Wilson's baby. He had, for once, observed Wilson's wishes and kept his mouth shut about the entire mess, except with Cuddy of course. She was completely thrilled that Wilson may be about to become a father and had invited him over a few nights later for a private celebration. House had studied Foreman carefully, wondering how pissed he would be when he found out that his girlfriend was sleeping with another man. Especially, House thought to himself, after he found out about her pregnancy, which he must have noticed by now.

Thirteen had mild morning sickness, House found, but her body was still thin and there was no way someone who hadn't seen her completely naked or known beforehand could have seen signs of her pregnancy. Wilson had asked House not to mention his knowledge of the situation to Thirteen, but House had pointed out that he needed a bit of fun. What was the point in knowing dirt on someone if they didn't know you knew, he had argued. Wilson had sighed realizing that House could have made things much more difficult than just letting Thirteen know he knew about her situation.

Wilson had been in the room when House informed Thirteen of his newness into their privacy circle, but she hadn't been as surprised as he had imagined. She seemed a bit relieved, actually and House pointed that out. "Well I figured you would find out anyway and if you're going to try and help us out, it'll be a bit easier," she had told him with a shrug.

"What makes you think I would help you go behind Foreman's back to have testing done on the unborn child that is quite possibly his? He's a member of my team…one of my fave five!" House said. Not even Thirteen would believe that, however. She rolled her eyes and looked at him a bit impatiently.

"Wilson's your best friend. It could be his baby," Thirteen told him. "That's why you'll help."

House had to grudgingly agree. "Don't expect me to lay off the fat jokes or baby references forever, though. As soon as you find out who your 'baby daddy' is I'm all over your situation."

Fortunately, the drama surrounding Wilson, Thirteen, Foreman and the love child kept House's mind off of his nerves concerning giving up his freedom to Cuddy forever. With a little over five months until he was doomed to say 'I do,' House knew it was best to keep busy. He used the next few weeks to privately harass his best friend and the secret girlfriend about their nighttime escapades. He was there as well when Chase was let into the secret and asked to perform a paternity test on the three month old fetus.

The blonde was a bit flustered to say the least, but House made a call to the doctor formerly known as Cameron and put her on sympathy alert to help them get what they needed. "I don't like keeping secrets from colleagues," House had muttered as he prepped Thirteen for the procedure. She was still not showing, much to her relief, so Foreman still didn't know about her fragile state.

"You never liked the dark end of our ethnicity rainbow, anyway," House pointed out. "I don't know why you'd oppose getting some inside information about his life to hold over his head."

"He can't tell Foreman!" Wilson broke in, annoyed that House would suggest such a thing.

"I know, I know…just trying to help his conscience…or the lack there of." Everyone present, including Cuddy, who had demanded to be present for the procedure, rolled their eyes at House's insensitive statement.

"I think I'm glad you're marrying him," Cameron told Cuddy as her husband's team anesthetized Thirteen. "Maybe you can keep him in line."

"I'll never be in line," House retorted before his fiancé could say a word. "I'm a line skipper actually."

The procedure went well and the baby's DNA was extracted for testing. "You'll have to make up some reason that Foreman needs to give some kind of DNA," Cameron told House.

"Random drug testing," the diagnostician said with a smile. "He'll think I'm just being racist, but Cuddy's got my back. It's nice to have friends in high places. Besides, if he thinks I'm being racist, he won't suspect me of wanting to test his DNA."

"You're brilliant, but evil," Wilson pointed out to his best friend.

"You're making me blush!" House exclaimed sarcastically.

"You'll need to give a sample of your DNA as well," Cuddy told the oncologist.

"Already did. It's waiting in the lab."

"You are such a teacher's pet," House accused. "I'll be in my office naked if anyone needs me. The fun part of this is over. Wilson you can run the labs after you get the sample from 'the dark one.'" House limped out of the observation room and headed back to his office, knowing his claims of becoming naked would interest his lady soon enough.

It was nearly an hour before she showed up, however. "I thought you'd lost interest," he told her as she locked the doors and closed the blinds. She turned to face him and unfastened her dress, revealing a corset and g-string.

"Just wanted to get prepared for a day of waiting on some answers," she replied as his jaw dropped. She let the dress slide to the floor and walked across the office to where he sat behind the desk. In one motion she had swept his things to the floor. She then climbed on top of the desk to give him a close up view of the ensemble. "Do you like my outfit?"

"You should dress like that every day," he told her, running his hands up her thighs. He pulled her closer and licked her bottom lip as he massaged her breasts through the material of her corset. 'What a great way to wait,' he thought to himself. She tangled her hands in his hair and wrapped her legs around his waist as he worked the fastenings of her binding attire. Once her breasts were free he gave them the attention they deserved, eliciting approving moans from Cuddy as she held his face to her cleavage.

When both breasts had been thoroughly suckled and attended to, he hooked his fingers into the thin material of her panties and tugged them down. The g-string was stuffed into the top drawer of his desk for safe keeping. He decided to leave her half open corset and high heels on and made to strip himself. Cuddy helped, making short work of his belt as she stripped off his t-shirt. His pants and boxers were a puddle around his feet in under a minute.

House bent his fiancé over the desk and teased her entrance with the head of his throbbing member. She moaned at the feeling of her breasts pressed against the cold hard wood of the desk as House held her down and drove her crazy with his ministrations. He rubbed his cock over her clit, making her buck up against the desk and shudder. "You like this?" he asked, pleased with the way his day was going.

"Yes!" she hissed. "Please, House…"

"What is it you want?" he asked. He had never really liked talking dirty before but the sight of Cuddy splayed out on his desk begging for him was a huge turn on.

"House!"

"Say it!" he demanded.

"Fuck me!!!" she begged, pushing her ass back to rub against his erection more firmly. House's cock twitched with her words and he plunged mercilessly into her depths. He held her to the desk and pounded into her from behind as she cried out obscenities and his name over and over again. With her third orgasm clenching around him he began to thrust even more wildly, holding her hips in place as he shoved his cock into her dripping pussy. He came as she cried out the feelings of her fourth explosion, milking him with her inner muscles.

They collapsed together on top of his desk, House putting the majority of his weight on her and keeping it off of his right leg. When the strength returned to his legs he stood and pulled his boxers and jeans back up, squeezing her ass as he pulled her into a standing position again. Her body pressed against him made him tingle as his penis twitched to life again, but a knock at the door squashed his plans to take her again.

"What do you need?" he yelled at the intrusion through the door.

"Cuddy's babysitter called," Wilson answered, his voice muffled. "She needs to pick Rachel up within the hour."

House growled but let Cuddy go. "We'll continue this later," he told her. Cuddy smirked as she refastened her corset and put her dress back on.

"Are you going to return my underwear?" she asked.

"Oh no," he replied with a glint in his eye. "These are staying with me." She looked very pleased that he wanted her g-string and kissed him soundly before opening the door. She winked at House as Wilson walked in, not surprised to see the mess in the floor and House standing shirtless by his desk.

"Good counseling session?" Wilson asked, dropping to his knees to help House gather up his things.

"Sex with your employer in the afternoon," House replied with a smile. "Really wakes you up."

Wilson grinned as he finished replacing the things on House's desk. He was happy that his friend had finally found love. "Thirteen's doing well, wants to check herself out right away, but I convinced her to stay under observation."

"It's a good thing Foreman's off today," House muttered. "Never expected his mother's Alzheimer's to be a blessing."

"You're an ass," Wilson told him.

"It apparently doesn't bother you too much," House retorted.

"The results of the test should be ready any minute," Wilson said, suddenly a bit nervous.

"I'll walk down to the lab with you," House offered. The two men didn't talk until they were sitting in the lab waiting for the machine to announce the results of the paternity test. "What are you going to do if it's his?" House asked.

"I'll let her tell him…I love her, but I'll do whatever she wants. If its Foreman's baby and she wants to be with him, she doesn't have to tell him about us." Wilson sighed and House realized that his friend wanted the baby and Thirteen.

"You really love her?" House asked.

"Yes," Wilson said wistfully.

"It's your baby."

"You don't know that yet," Wilson told his friend. The machine beeped and the results printed out. House let Wilson read the results first. The color drained from Wilson's face and House got ready to clap him on the back to say 'better luck next time.' "It's my baby," Wilson whispered.


	22. Bad News Travels Fast

Ch 22: Bad News Travels Fast

The only thing keeping House from psyching himself out about getting married and settling down with Cuddy was the predicament that Wilson had gotten himself into. House was there beside his best friend when Thirteen found out about the baby's paternity and he was the one who offered to have dinner with the two of them to decide how to break the news to Foreman. Thirteen was a little wary of House's motives for being involved, but Wilson pulled her aside and assured her that House wouldn't intentionally screw things up for them.

"Why are you here again?" Thirteen asked House and Cuddy the next Friday as they sat down in an uptown restaurant to work out a plan of action.

"I was concerned," Cuddy replied, looking at the younger woman with sympathy.

"You just want to keep tabs on what's happening in the hospital," Thirteen said bluntly. "And you're House's fiancé now so where ever he gets to go, you tag along…"

"Honey, please relax," Wilson said, laying a hand on Thirteen's and hoping Cuddy wouldn't retaliate. Fortunately the soon-to-be Mrs. House held her tongue, knowing that it was a difficult situation that Thirteen was the man character in. Thirteen seemed to relax into Wilson's touch, a fact which House tucked away for later use in annoying his best friend.

"Foreman is a delicate being," the head of diagnostics began. "He might not look like a quivering ball of emotions, but that's exactly what he is and this whole process is going to be hard on him more than the two of you…ahem cheaters."

"House," Cuddy began, hoping to keep his mouth from getting him into trouble with the people that they both worked with and had to deal with in real life as well. House was having no part of that, however.

"Quiet woman, I'm working my magic!"

"Look. If you don't mind, the father of the child and I will try and decide how best to break the relationship off with Foreman," Thirteen stated. "You might be trying to help, but we really don't need it. We're adults!"

"I think you should just break up with him," Wilson said in Thirteen' direction, but keeping his eyes locked on House's the entire time.

"What am I supposed to tell him when we start dating? Or better yet, when I start showing signs of being pregnant?" Thirteen demanded, getting a bit annoyed.

"I'll be there with you and if he has any questions, I'll deal with him," Wilson replied, sounding more manly than House knew he was feeling. Foreman was a large man, after all.

"Fine. We'll do that, but if he kills you, don't blame me," Thirteen said. "Now can we please just get some service!" A nearby waiter hurried over and took drink orders, hearing the annoyance in her voice.

"Geez…somebody's feeling the hormones!" House told Wilson. "Good luck with that…"

"Shut up, House," Thirteen retorted. The wine came and things settled down a bit and turned into a dinner out among friends, for the most part. House of course had to interject potentially offensive or annoying remarks every so often, but no one was terribly surprised about that.

"Think they'll be able to make something work without killing each other?" House asked Cuddy on the way back to her place after the couples had said their goodbyes.

"That won't be an issue if Wilson gets murdered by an angry Foreman," she pointed out.

"I want to be there when he gets the message," House said, almost to himself.

"Why? You want to see the shock and pain on your employee's face when he gets the news that his colleague and girlfriend has been sleeping with your best friend and is now having a baby with him? Do you have a death wish?"

"No. I think someone should be there to protect Wilson, though. Christ knows he won't be able to do much on his own against the bear!"

"And a guy with a cane will save the day," Cuddy said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes. "I'll try to be around as well, hopefully he'll think too much of his career to take a swing at Wilson…we already know he can't get another job outside the hospital."

"Yeah. You might end up switching his department, though."

"That's what you're really after," Cuddy muttered.

"What I'm really after is what's under that tight skirt," he told her, looking suggestively at her legs.

"Keep your eyes on the road," she said, trying to mask her amusement.

"Don't trust me?" he asked with an evil grin.

"Just don't get us killed," she told him.

"There's something I've always wanted to do," he confided, knowing she would be intrigued.

"What's that?" she asked cautiously.

"Have sex while driving…"

She looked around, seeing the open straight stretch of road ahead of them that stretched for at least three miles. Sighing, she hiked up her skirt and kicked off her shoes. Her jacket was discarded into the backseat and she unzipped his already tented jeans. "You're gonna owe me for this one," she informed him, carefully climbing onto his lap and settling herself over his erection.

House chuckled to himself and kept his eyes locked on the road as she lowered herself down onto him, enveloping his hard cock in her tight walls. He moaned lightly, forcing himself to keep his eyes open. Cuddy was careful to keep her weight off of his right leg as she began to grind against him, resting her head on his shoulder to keep out of his line of vision. She rode him slowly, drawing out the feelings until he couldn't take it any longer and exploded inside her as they were turning back into the city.

Cuddy tried to disentangle herself carefully, without distracting him from the road and barely accomplished her task. "That was definitely interesting," he told her breathlessly. "I just about drove off the road a few times."

"We probably won't be doing that again unless we're in some straight stretch of land in a hick town out west," she said, adjusting her attire.

"I'll have to make some plans for a vacation, then," he told her with a waggle of his eyebrows. She couldn't help but giggle, knowing that if he were pulled over, his genitalia would be fully on display. He fixed himself before they got out of the car in her driveway but she made a clucking noise that he was curious about.

"Don't get all dressed up again…it'll take longer to get you ready for bed," she told him seductively. House had completely stripped before they even hit the bedroom.


	23. Repercussions of the Forbidden

Ch 23: Repercussions of the Forbidden

Though House wasn't truly an evil person, he couldn't help but get a bit excited when he thought of Thirteen and Wilson breaking the bad news to Foreman. He didn't really have much against Foreman either, save for his annoying quality and his unparalleled ability to ignore House the majority of the time. He wanted to see Foreman rattled, yes, but it was more a general longing for some drama in his life and if he had to live vicariously through the situation that Wilson and Thirteen were embroiled in, House would take what he could get. He spent the majority of Monday morning hopped up on the electricity in the air and the potential for something interesting to happen in his differential room.

A sixteen year old girl was admitted with a spiking fever, and blue excretions, which had whetted House's interests, and he had let Thirteen, Taub and Foreman battle it out about what could be causing the illness. "What do you think?" Taub had demanded of him, red about the ears and neck and glaring daggers at Foreman across the table.

House pondered for a moment. "I think the three of you are doing an excellent job of participating in this differential…carry on." His team sighed collectively and he could tell that they had been hoping he would help them out. When he said nothing further Foreman stood up.

"Well since House doesn't feel like doing his job today, I'll step in," he said annoyed. "Thirteen can check the patient's house for toxins, Taub can do a full workup, and I'll take a patient history."

"Nope," House piped up from his seat, watching his team intently.

"What do you mean, 'nope'?" Foreman asked, narrowing his dark eyes in House's direction.

"I mean 'nope,'" he replied simply. The three doctors stared at him like he had lost his mind. After nearly two very comfortable minutes of their gazes fully upon him, House spoke again. "Thirteen does the history, Foreman the panel and Taub searches the house."

"Are you undermining my authority for the sake of it, or does this actually have a purpose?" Foreman demanded.

"Other than annoying you and undermining your authority…no purpose at all," House replied with a smirk. Taub simply rolled his eyes and Foreman glared at him angrily, but he could tell Thirteen had caught on to his real reasoning. He didn't want anything to happen to his best friend's unborn child while the mother was off looking for possibly harmful exposures to toxins or the equivalent. The team left the differential room a few moments later in various states of mood and House smiled to himself, thinking that Foreman was about to get his due comeuppance.

The head of diagnostics waited until the team had been gone for a few minutes to pay Wilson a visit. "Brilliant morning, no?" House asked, popping his head into the oncologist's office. "Busy?"

Wilson sighed. "Not really. I have some x-rays to examine, but I can't really concentrate. We're going to tell Foreman after lunch," he told House.

"Ah…waiting 'til he's weighted down with food to crush his spirit. Good plan. He won't be as agile with lunch sitting on his stomach."

"Are you going to come in, or did you just want to hear about my nerves, and then back to your office for a four hour stint of porn and online gaming?"

"Well since you asked so nicely," House replied sarcastically. He came into the room and plopped down in his usual chair, propping his feet up on Wilson's desk.

"You're in a good mood," Wilson realized.

"Yep. One of my fellows is about to get a boot in the nuts…why wouldn't I be?"

"You might lose that team member?" Wilson tried.

"Eh…didn't ask for him in the first place."

"Well you'd be down to two and Cuddy wouldn't be pleased by that," Wilson pointed out. "She'd make you hire someone else."

"I've got Cuddy eating out of the palm of my hand now," House told him. "You forget that we're getting married in like…four months."

"Right. Cuddy will never answer to you, no matter how long you're married," Wilson replied.

"You'll see how things play out," House said confidently. Wilson raised his eye brows at this, but didn't see fit to comment. "You doubt?"

"I'll just let it be left to fate…" Wilson said.

Lunch was slow in coming and House was bouncing off the walls by the time he sat down with a slurpee and half of Wilson's sandwich. Wilson wasn't eating much, which suited House fine. He could always eat, even under high pressure. "I'm about to ruin someone's life," Wilson said quietly.

"And quite possibly see the end of yours," House added around a bite of ham and cheese. Wilson looked at him, a bit annoyed that he would say such things, but of course he knew House better than anyone and really hadn't expected anything else from him.

"I don't know if I can do this."

"Sure you can. Either you do it and get it over with, then start planning to keep Thirteen up while she grows your spawn or you steer clear of the heat and let Foreman wonder why he's raising a white kid six months from now." House took a slurp of his drink. "Your choice."

"You're such a ray of sunshine," Wilson said, glaring at his best friend.

"And that's why you love me," House replied, ignoring the obviousness of his friend's sarcasm. Wilson sighed. House was right. He actually did enjoy the 'House' brand of humor. He wasn't however enjoying the idea of facing Foreman.

Lunch ended, however, much to Wilson's displeasure. House followed him up to the diagnostics differential room, enjoying the vaguely sick look on his face. And eager to get the interesting bit of his day started. Cuddy was waiting on them in a chair. House bent to kiss her and Wilson smiled a bit, glad that his friend had finally settled down a bit…at least enough to hold a relationship. He sank into a chair near Cuddy and House snickered.

"Hoping Mommy will protect you?" he asked. Cuddy rolled her eyes and Wilson made a face, but didn't respond otherwise. Thirteen entered the room looking a bit pale.

"You ready?" Wilson asked her, standing and placing a hand on her shoulder. She nodded, though everyone in the room could tell she was nervous. Foreman didn't leave them waiting long, however. He walked in with a bizarre look upon his face.

"What's going on in here?" he asked. "Tea party?"

"You might want to sit down," Cuddy suggested. Thirteen and Wilson had broken apart at his appearance and were edging closer to Cuddy's chair. Foreman looked at them all strangely, but took a seat.

Wilson cleared his throat. "Before we get started," he began, "I want to apologize for going behind your back." Foreman narrowed his eyes and looked at Thirteen.

"I can't see you anymore," she told him shakily. "I'm with Wilson now."

"What?" Shock was plastered all over Foreman's face, much to House's delight. "With him?"

"Yes. We've been seeing each other for about five months now," Wilson added. "And again, I apologize, but what's done is done."

"I'm pregnant," Thirteen blurted out. There was an uncomfortable silence as Foreman processed this information. He looked from Wilson to his former girlfriend in a state of confusion.

"Is it…mine?" he asked finally.

"No. It's Wilson's," she told him, looking anywhere but his face.

"I can't believe you'd do this to me!" he said, standing. It seemed that the anger had finally broken through. "You're just like the rest of the female population; Cold and cruel and full of shit!"

He moved forward and Wilson stepped in front of Thirteen. Foreman looked disgusted but walked past him and out of the door. After a moment House stood. "That went well." The three remaining parties in the room looked at him incredulously. He smirked and walked into his inner office, pleased that Foreman had stormed off, though he had lost ten bucks to Chase on a bet that Foreman would hit Wilson. His differential room cleared and he turned the television on to catch the end of his soap opera.

The next morning there was a letter of resignation on his desk.


	24. Bargaining and the Inevitable

Ch 24: Bargaining and the Inevitable

It wasn't particularly shocking that Foreman wanted to resign, at least from where House stood, but obviously the younger man had been down the road of searching for a new job before and it hadn't paid off for him. He was therefore making a big mistake, even if he thought that he'd be better off not working in Jersey. House rolled his eyes and tossed the resignation to the side of his desk. Predictably, Cuddy was in his office within the hour with a copy of Foreman's attempt at a dramatic exit as well.

"Did you see this?" she asked him, clearly flustered.

"Unfortunately," House replied, not turning his attention away from his computer screen. She slapped the resignation on his desk, effectively earning his attention. "A temper tantrum is not going to change him mind," he pointed out.

"Well ignoring the issue isn't going to help anything either," she replied. "We're going to have to address this sooner or later. I'd say he wants a job as soon as possible."

"Does he deserve a job, though? He's being very uncooperative."

"Well he did get a bit of a shock yesterday. And you can't expect him to want to keep working with the people who crushed his spirit."

"Oh, GOD!" House said, looking at her as though she were no more intelligent than a small child. "He did not have his spirit crushed. He was dumped. He had something invested and lost it…it's not the end of his days…he didn't even pay enough attention to Thirteen. She had to turn to Wilson for comfort!"

"He works, House! They'd been together for a year and a half! He has feelings!"

"She works with him. If he couldn't pay attention to her any more, she should have left," the diagnostician told his boss/fiancé standing to meet her gaze.

"You're really dense for someone so smart!" Cuddy told him furiously.

"Why are you so invested in Foreman's business, anyway?"

"He works for me! My whole job is the functioning of this hospital and the people who work here!" she retorted, poking a finger into his chest. "Some of us have to work all day, every day."

"Are you trying to say that my job isn't important?" he said, getting pissed. "I save lives! What do you do? Shake your tits in front of some old guys to get money out of them and look good for the media?"

"I work hard!" Cuddy raged. "If you don't think so, I don't know why you bother working here."

"It's your body!" House told her viciously. "It's the only thing worth hanging around for."

Cuddy's jaw dropped as she stared into the eyes of the man whom she thought loved her. Without another word she turned on her heel and walked out, not wanting him to see her cry and show vulnerability after their fight and everything he had just said.

House watched her leave, realizing what he had said. He sighed and sank into his seat. The busty blonde on his computer was enveloping a huge cock in her glossed mouth and looked utterly repulsive to House after something so serious had passed. He turned the computer off and walked around the desk, fully feeling the pain in his leg for the first time in months. 'What the hell,' he thought to himself as he panted, leaning against the door to the differential room. 'She won't talk to me after this anyway.' He limped painfully back to his desk and opened the top drawer. The familiar bottle of Vicodin lay waiting for his touch inside.

House picked the bottle up and wrapped a fist around it. He pressed his fist to his forehead feeling more than physical pain at the realization that he had quite possibly ruined the only relationship he had cared about for such a long time. He sighed deeply and opened the cap. He remembered the events surrounding his last detox with bittersweet feeling. It was certainly not pleasant. A surge of pain shot through his thigh, steeling his resolve to partake of the comfort drug and he took two white pills out and put them in his mouth. The bitter taste was like coming home and he closed his eyes as he swirled them around with his tongue. He swallowed and recapped the bottle, then stuck it into his pocket and walked out of his office in the direction of Wilson's.

"I fucked up," he said simply at Wilson's surprised look.


	25. Mistakes and Consequences

Ch 25: Mistakes and Consequences

"You took the pills?!?" Wilson said for the eighth time, ever incredulous. It was as though he couldn't believe his best friend would pop a pain pill when he needed one.

"Yes! I took the pills! If I'd known you'd be so pissed off about some pain medication I'd have just chopped my fucking leg off!" House raged. "You're missing the bigger issue here. I fucked up with Cuddy."

"She'll forgive your asshood. What I don't know if she'll be able to take is your renewed dependence on opiates!"

"I don't have a renewed dependence on opiates!" House argued. "I took two pills to eliminate the pain in my leg."

"Where did you even get them? Con some poor intern into writing you a prescription?"

"Would you just shut the fuck up and help me find a way to get Cuddy back on my side? I backslid, yes, and possibly the only person who can help me at this point thinks I only want her for her body. I don't know if I'll recover this time, Wilson."

The oncologist fisted his hair and dropped his head heavily on the desk. "You sabotage yourself," he told House, his voice muffled by his face pressed into the hard wood. "You get something great and can't help but screw it up…I don't know if I can help you here."

"You were just saying that she'll forgive my asshood, though," House said, clearly wanting Wilson to wave his fairy godmother wand and poof his woman back into love with him.

"Yeah, but you're still going to have to work hard to get her back. What you said was awful."

"I realize that, Captain Obvious," House replied, rolling his eyes. His entire being exuded sarcasm.

"Well just go talk to her. Tell her you're sorry. Tell her you need her. Tell her you love her…you do love her, don't you?"

"Yes, idiot. I wouldn't be marrying her if I didn't love her."

"Well people in love don't generally tell their partners that they're only good for a quick roll in the hay," Wilson pointed out quite meanly. House considered punching him in the face, but decided that he was right and would be less willing to help with a broken nose or black eye. He settled for heaving a huge sigh.

"You really don't think I should give her time to cool down?"

"Well, maybe. But don't put this off too long or she'll just get even more infuriated."

House took Wilson's advice and waited until the end of the day to confront Cuddy and try to patch things up. She visibly tensed up when he entered her office. "What do you want?" she asked coldly.

"I want you back," he told her truthfully.

"What? Need somewhere to park your penis? That's all I'm good for, right?" She was looking down and, House guessed, trying to hide the tears that threatened to spill over her cheeks.

"No. I love you. I said something stupid and untrue. It was just the first thing I could think of. I was just so pissed off," he told her.

"I need some time to think about things," she said after a moment, not meeting his eyes. "I'll call you when I'm ready." There was nothing he could do when she picked up her purse and walked out of the office, leaving him feeling the dizzying effects of the pills. He really wanted to pour a few more into his mouth and numb most of the pain, as well as all coherent thought, but knew that that was not a great idea. He had to be stronger than that if he wanted to get Cuddy back.

When House got home that night he let the frustration about the entire day out of his body by holing up in the bathtub with a bottle of bourbon and some sad music. He needed her, he realized, not for the first time. Greg House had been given a chance at love and would never have it again…he would do everything in his power to get her back. He spent the rest of the night drowning his pain and planning things to do for his woman to make her fall in love with him again.


	26. Typical House Party

Ch 26: Typical House Party

"You have to tell her about the pills, House," Wilson declared over lunch. He had been going on and on about House having taken 2 pills for nearly two days and House was becoming quite fed up with it. He glared at his best friend as though daring him to continue talking. "I'm serious…this rant is about getting Cuddy back. If she finds out in some way other than you telling her flat out she won't be as happy to take you back into her bedroom."

"That's not what I want to get back into," House threw back at him. "Ok…I do want back there, but that's not the only thing I want back into." He sighed and Wilson felt bad for all his nagging. "I even miss that little urchin," House admitted, his head in his hands.

"Tell her that," Wilson suggested.

"Tell me what?" a feminine voice asked from behind the oncologist. House sat up straight and looked incredulously at the woman he loved.

"Cuddy," he breathed.

"Hey," there was a slight edge in her voice and he couldn't tell if it was because she was aroused by his disheveled looks or because it hurt to be around him. Considering what he had said, he assumed it was the latter.

"I'll just let you two catch up," Wilson announced, standing up. He walked away, leaving House and Cuddy alone to talk. She took Wilson's vacant seat and looked at him very carefully.

"I didn't think I could see you again so soon," she told him quietly. "I missed you though."

"I've missed you too. SO much."

"And I know that what you said was done without thinking, but it hurt me, House."

"And I'm so very sorry," he said, taking her small hands in his own. "You have to believe me."

"I do. But that doesn't change the fact that you would or could say something so cruel in the future simply because you were mad at me. I don't think I could take a repeat of this."

"It won't happen ever again," he promised.

"You can't make that promise," she said sadly. "And I don't think we should continue…"

House cut her off with a half cry that stole her breath. "Please don't do this…don't tell me it's over."

"You'll just keep hurting me, even if you do care," she pointed out.

"I would never hurt you intentionally," he told her, desperate for some kind of rescue. Some sign that she would give him another chance.  
"It's the unintentional that I can't deal with," she said, looking at the table. House's breath caught in his throat and he tried to roughly swallow the lump that was forming there. She looked back up at him with a fierce determination in her gray eyes. "I'm sorry."

House looked more vulnerable then than she had ever seen him in their twenty odd years of mutual acquaintance. He just kept looking at her with his piercing blue eyes and she felt it when he crumbled. She stood, unable to be around him any longer, and walked out of the cafeteria. Wilson had been at a table in the corner awaiting the verdict and rushed over as he saw his best friend fall apart at that table.

House went numb when she walked away and barely felt Wilson guiding him up to his office. He lay down on Wilson's couch not knowing what to do about his life. "I'm sorry," Wilson kept telling him over and over again. It didn't make him feel any better of course. He simply lay there staring out into space and blinking rapidly.

"How could you do that to him?" Wilson raged at his boss. He had left House lying on the couch and stormed down to Cuddy's office, furious and in utter disbelief that she would give up on their relationship so easily. The dark haired woman looked at him like he had gone mad. She was on the phone with a benefactor and politely offered to call them back as Wilson seethed in front of her, waiting on an answer she didn't have.

"He hurt me," she told him. "I know you'll forgive him anything, but he'll just keep hurting me until I call it off. We might as well end it here."  
"He's destroyed in my office. Can't talk or do anything but stare at the wall. You've succeeded where Stacy failed. Congratulations! House will never be the same again."

"Good. Maybe he'll learn a lesson!" she threw back at him. "He can't just go on doing what he wants if he wants me. He couldn't keep his mouth shut for even 8 months. How can I expect him to deal with problems that come along if he can't be civil to me over a disagreement?"

"You're a bitch…a cold, heartless bitch!" Wilson snapped and walked out of her office, leaving her staring after him.


	27. An Outrageous Backlash

Ch 27: An Outrageous Backlash

Wilson returned to his office to find his best friend still staring into space, eyes glazed and mouth slightly ajar. Something wasn't right; the oncologist felt it in his gut. "House?" he ventured. The diagnostician blanched at his name. "Are you ok?" House was most certainly not ok as he started to sway in his sitting position. Wilson barely caught him before he hit the floor. He turned his friend on his side in case he had an absent seizure and ran to his door, calling a nurse and Taub, who was nearby into the room.

"God, what's wrong with him?" Taub asked.

"I have no idea," Wilson panted as he helped them get House off the floor as a gurney was rolled into the office. The empty pill bottle fell out of House's pocket as they secured him and Wilson spotted the lost article as they wheeled him out. "Jesus," he whispered to himself, staring incredulously at the number on the label. He tucked the bottle into his pocket and sprinted out the door after his friend and the entourage who were gathered around him. "He needs to have his stomach pumped right now!" he ordered and the small group made for the O.R.

Wilson couldn't bring himself to follow them, knowing that if something happened to House he wouldn't be able to bear it and seeing something happen would only be worse. He settled for making his way toward the stairs, hell bent on showing Cuddy just what her stupidity and heartlessness had cost her…had cost House. She was once again on the phone when he burst in, red in the face and ready to commit murder on his best friend's behalf.

"Let me call you back," Cuddy told the person on the other line. "I know it's inconvenient, but we're having a bit of a crisis at the moment and I've just gotten word that my help is needed. "Right…well the meeting is still on for tomorrow then. Good." She hung up and Wilson threw the empty Vicodin bottle onto her desk. "What the hell is going on, Wilson?" she demanded picking up the bottle. Wilson could see her heart plummeting in her chest.

"He did that, while I was talking to you…he's having his stomach pumped as we speak." Wilson's tone was cold and clipped, not wanting her to see just how much this was affecting him.

"Oh, God," the Dean of Medicine murmured. "Because of me?"

"Because you broke his heart," Wilson told her, his voice now cracking under the pressure on him. "He loved you, Cuddy, and you rejected him…so he's trying to reject everything else. I knew this would happen someday…someone would get to him then leave him. I didn't expect it to be you, though. You know him. You can't expect him to change completely overnight! He can't change who he is!!!"

"Oh, GOD!" she sobbed. "I was just so mad…" She brushed past him and made a beeline for the Operating Room with Wilson on her tail. Wilson couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for her as she cried her eyes out, watching House being worked on by a strangely calm Chase.

"You probably can't go back," Wilson pointed out. "And he probably can't forgive you. You pushed him to the edge, and then harassed him until he jumped. He let you get close to him, now that whole part of him is gone."

"I know," she wept. "I'm so sorry…I want him back!" She kept murmuring apologies and crying as the procedure went on. When House was taken to recovery, both Wilson and Cuddy went inside to watch him. He didn't wake up, however and this brought on more concerns. "Do you think he has brain damage?" Wilson asked Chase after nearly 6 hours without response.

"He's sustaining life on his own. I can only assume he's fine. There might be some damage that's causing him to stay out, though. Perhaps if you still had Foreman we could get to the bottom of this." Wilson's opinion of Chase dropped a little after that and he went back to watching House, Cuddy still weeping at his side.

"There's no way to know how long he'll be in this state," the residential neurologist told Wilson and Cuddy as they sat around his bed in his private room. "It could be a few days, a few weeks, years…forever. You have to be prepared for that possibility."

Cuddy was still sniffling beside House so Wilson was left to talk to the doctors. He noted the grim look on the neurologist's face as he gave the possibilities. It was far from comforting to hear those words. It had been nearly 48 hours with no signs of House waking up. Wilson only left the room to use the bathroom and Cuddy was the same, crooning things to him and hoping that he could hear them. Hoping to wake him from his deep sleep.


	28. Facing Death and Fighting Fear

Ch 28: Facing Death and Fighting Fear

Though the neurologists tested House every day for signs of brain activity and potential for coming out of his coma, there was little indication that he was at all aware of what was going on around him and he remained unresponsive. Cuddy took days off of her sick leave to sit by his side, going home only long enough to check the house and occasionally to take Rachel to her babysitter's place. She was a weepy mess and Wilson felt a little sorry for her, though it was partially her fault that House was in such a mess to begin with.

"What can you do for him?" Wilson asked the neurologist after a week of seeing House in a comatose state. He was bracing himself for the worst and facing the possibility of his best friend being a vegetable for the rest of his life.

"It doesn't look good. He's self sustaining, but non-responsive to any treatments. Due to his personality, we've checked and double checked the monitors every day. His brain isn't coming through for him. He doesn't even realize what's going on most likely and there's a huge chance that his drug abuse has affected him," the doctor explained. "We can make him comfortable and check on him regularly, but otherwise, there isn't anything that will bring him out of this coma except his body. We can't influence it in any way, though you know we've tried."

"Thank you," Wilson said tiredly. "I'll tell his fiancé what's going on and let you conduct your testing." Wilson was dreading the inevitable talk with Cuddy about how things looked. She would cry, of course, that he was prepared for, but who knew how far she would take the grieving. When she stepped out of the room so the neurologist could wheel him down to get a CAT scan and a few other tests on House's Head, he offered to buy her a coffee. She looked as though she hadn't been getting much sleep.

"What are we going to do, Wilson?" she asked, sipping at the caffeinated drink.

"There isn't much we can do. The neurologist says that he's non-responsive, still. There isn't any change and the chance that he'll wake up is definitely dwindling."

Cuddy sniffled and he realized that he wasn't completely prepared for the breakdown that she would surely experience. Fortunately, he was able to buy a little time to think as his now noticeably pregnant girlfriend joined them with a coke and a half-hearted smile. She had been working in the clinic since House had been unconscious as all his cases had been handed off to other doctors. Cuddy had called Foreman, but the stubborn man was unwilling to return to work and help out when the woman who he had thought loved him still worked under House and dated Wilson.

"How is he?" Thirteen asked.

"The same," Wilson told her quietly. The young woman nodded, understanding. Wilson had at least been able to talk to her about his best friend's delicate condition. The threesome tried to avoid the subject of House and were into a fair conversation about baby names when a blonde nurse burst into the cafeteria and bustled over to them.

"What is it?" Wilson asked, standing up and fearing the worst. This was House's nurse, after all. The women turned to look at the blonde expectantly as well and she took them in for a moment before opening her mouth.

"Doctor Hayes asked me to come and find you. Dr. House became responsive during the procedure and is now having strong mental reactions."

She didn't get the chance to say anything else as the three people who had been trying to put House out of their minds were now rushing for the doors, desperate for some assurance that he was getting better. Wilson put a hand on Thirteen's lower back as he guided her into the elevator and for the first time since House had overdosed felt physically attracted to her. Cuddy followed them inside, however and he focused on the matters at hand. He wanted to believe that his best friend would be able to come out of his vegetative state and get back to his normal self.

The neurologist was talking to House when they entered the room and he looked up at them with a bright smile upon their entrance. "It seems that Dr. House has lived up to his reputation of proving people wrong," he told them. "Almost as soon as the tests started, he began to respond. I waited a few moments before sending the nurse to inform you as I didn't want to get your hopes up for a few random spikes, but he's very responsive and we might even see him wake up completely within a few weeks."

Wilson grinned, knowing that if his friend was really taking anything in, he would force himself to wake up all the sooner, just to prove the other man wrong once again. "Thank you so much, Doctor," Cuddy was saying as she touched House's hands and face. "Can you hear me, babe?" she asked him. There were a series of beeps from the monitor and Dr. Hayes grinned again.

"It appears that he can hear you."

"Of course he can," Wilson said with a smirk. "He's the brilliant Dr. House." More beeps followed that statement and it was as though House was pointing out that he was always going to do more than was expected and Wilson's grin brightened. Even comatose, House had to get the last word in.

Cuddy stayed with House again that night, even after Wilson and Thirteen left to…ahem…take care of some unfinished business she talked to her sleeping partner. She was thrilled to have him back in the land of the living and couldn't wait for him to wake up so she could apologize for everything and beg him for another chance.


	29. Back in the Saddle Again

Ch 29: Back in the Saddle Again

It was a few days before House actually came out of his coma, but when it happened he made sure everyone knew about it. Cuddy was beside him when he opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings. She peered into his eyes carefully using the flashlight perched on his bedside table. "Christ, woman, are you trying to burn out my retinas?" he asked grumpily. "I know you hate me, but you could leave some vital organs intact."

"I don't hate you, House. I love you," she told him. He squinted at her, looking her over suspiciously.

"You told me to fuck off over a bridge," he pointed out. "And I pretty well did as you told me…I'm out of your hair. You can get back to being Dean of Medicine, or hospital administrator, or clinic whore, or whatever it is you prefer to go by."

Cuddy was taken aback by his bluntness. She had most certainly not expected him to be so rude; he had just come out of a coma, after all. He was, she realized, more scarred than she had thought he would be. She looked at her hands and cleared her throat, then stood, not knowing what else she could do. She walked out without another word or glance in his direction, fighting back the tears that threatened to overtake her.

House knew, of course, that Cuddy had been at his side the entire time by the joyous look in her eyes when he finally started stirring. He couldn't help himself, however. She had cut him deep and his pride was hurt as well. He sighed and let his head fall back onto the stack of pillows that she had most likely fixed under him the way he liked it. He wondered when Wilson would come by for a while, but fell asleep before he could give the idea more than a once over.

Wilson was standing over him, checking his pulse when House awakened again and he allowed himself to relax into the other man's bedside manner. "How's the kid coming along?" he asked the oncologist loudly.

"You were only out for a little over a week," Wilson told him. "There is no kid yet. Thirteen's still only four months pregnant."

"Damn! And I was hoping for some drama," the diagnostician said sarcastically.

"It sounds like you've got enough of that in your life," Wilson said. "You're avoiding Cuddy like the plague even after she didn't leave the hospital for nearly two weeks and only left your side to piss or pick up her kid."

"She doesn't want me. I'm a liability," House said sourly. The words seemed to leave an unpleasant after taste in his mouth, which he was not at all fond of.

"She apparently wants you somewhat, she stayed with you."

"But I'll still end up hurting her. She's right…it never would have worked out."

"You don't even believe that," Wilson accused. "You don't want it to work, because then you'd have to really commit to something. The wedding plans are still in place for four months from now. You could be the happy couple who grows old together and adopts bunches of orphans or whatever, but you'd rather stew in your own displeasure and your self-pity."

"Don't get all psycho analyst on me, Jimmy. I had that rotation as well."

"Too bad it didn't turn out for you. You're a self fulfilling prophecy! You want to be miserable…"

"How many times have I tried to get on a drug trial that I didn't need or score some weed that might not have been used for medical purposes? Do you think those times weren't me attempting to get my shit straight?"

"You barely even tried! I had to help you out with pretty much everything," Wilson was exasperated. "Which could have meant my license, by the way, for your information. You keep going back to mediocre fixes that will help you for a while. I think you like the limp making you special…noticeable."

House snorted. "And Chase will be the next Queen of England!"

"Too right the little bastard will," Wilson laughed.

"He probably would look better in a dress than that insane woman," House laughed and tapped his open palm against the table. Wilson couldn't help the smile that automatically crossed his face. House really was quite funny…things were back to normal for the dynamic duo, in any case, and both parties were very happy about that fact. House turned the channel to his soap opera and Wilson grabbed a chair and put his feet up on House's hospital sheets.


	30. The High and Mighty

Ch 30: The High and Mighty

House was released from the hospital after two full days of being monitored and he took a day off to lounge around his apartment. He quickly discovered that being alone was boring, however and was at work on Thursday. He walked into his office to find a stack of résumés piled on top of his computer. Without a second thought he discarded them into the floor in the neat little stack that they had been presented in. He sipped coffee and checked his email while waiting for one of his team members to show up so he could order them to get him a good case.

As it happened, Thirteen wasn't long in coming. She looked curiously at the files he had placed in the floor and then greeted him. "That's my pile of fan mail," he said, noticing where her eyes had been originally. "I grew bored of reading how great I am." His voice turned serious. "I need a case."  
"I'll see what I can do. Taub is still in the clinic, though."

"I'll go get him, your job is to keep me entertained. So go and do and be…" he ordered, waving a bit in her direction as though to shoo her out. She rolled her eyes and turned to do as he asked. House stood up and paced around for a few moments before making his way down to the elevator to get the missing member of his now 2 person team.

He arrived in the clinic in the midst of a crisis. A man who had come in with stomach flu symptoms had ended up with an extreme nose bleed and was being carted upstairs. Taub was nowhere to be seen. He checked the exam rooms and found him with a two year old patient and his overly protective mother. "I need you upstairs," House informed him.

"I'll be there as soon as I'm done here," Taub replied, not looking away from the child's inner ear.

"And see if you can't finagle that flu/nosebleed guy," House suggested. He hoped that Thirteen could find something more exciting, but wanted the weird bleeding as well. He spotted Cuddy at the nurse's station as he walked out of the clinic and a pang shot straight to his heart. He ignored that, of course, and kept walking. He would have successfully gotten away had it not been for her sharp eye for troublemakers.

"Dr. House!" she called. He pretended not to hear her and looked the elevator door over instead, hoping she would get the message. If it translated, she brushed it aside, however. "Dr. House, have you looked over the stack of possible new fellows that I had sent upstairs yesterday?" she asked.

"Oh, is that what those were? I thought you were just using my desk as a filing cabinet for the ignorant kids who think they've got a chance at getting hired here."

"House, you're going to have to replace Foreman. Thirteen is four months pregnant and Taub can't handle all of your cases that require illegal or dangerous behaviors," she pointed out. "And he can't do everything when Thirteen goes on maternity leave."

"I beg to differ," House replied, stepping into the elevator and hoping she would give up and walk away. He had no such luck. She pressed the button for his floor and glared at him for a moment.

"You aren't serious?"

"I'm dead serious," he said, not looking at her.

"You'll just be dead if you don't get a new team member. Or fired in any case." The look in her eyes was one of sternness and pain intermingling, but he avoided eye contact with her, so he missed it. He stepped out and walked toward his office, but Cuddy followed.

"I can have you arrested for stalking," he threatened.

"Not if I'm your boss telling you to do your job…and trying to make sure you follow through," she replied unhesitatingly. He said nothing in response, but kicked over the stack of résumés in defiance. She narrowed her eyes. "I want a name by Monday morning or I'll hire someone for you."

"I'll just fire them," he retorted, but she wasn't listening. She spun on her heel and left him alone so she could cool down, not wanting to make a scene in front of everyone they worked with about something so personal.

Thirteen returned soon thereafter with the file of the bleeder and House sighed. He had gotten what he wanted in the form of a patient, anyway. Thirteen went off to take a patient history while House waited on Taub to finish up in the clinic and report to work.

"Search the home and car," he ordered when the plastic surgeon finally turned up. When he didn't add anything to that, Taub confusedly wandered off to carry out his orders. House let his head fall into his hands and sighed tiredly. He was more miserable than ever and it was all Cuddy's fault.

House's pity party ended half an hour after it began when Thirteen came back with the information about the patient's life. The man was a scuba diver, so House ordered a full panel and a CAT scan. He watched her walk out and decided to ask Wilson about his personal life in hopes of rousing some kind of embarrassing memory or thought which would at least provide a bit of entertainment.

Wilson was completely free and offered to eat lunch, which House was inclined to agree with. They chatted at length about Thirteen's ass before House mentioned the new employee requirement set by Cuddy. "What are you going to do?" the oncologist asked. "You do need a new fellow."

"I realize that, but if I hire someone now it'll look like I'm doing it on her orders."

"I know following orders isn't your strong suit, but some things have to be done," Wilson told him.

"Never fuck your boss," House advised Wilson. "It'll come back to bit you on the ass."

Wilson rolled his eyes. "Thanks for that lesson in office relationship etiquette. I think I can get along without that bit of imparted wisdom, though. I never had the desire to sleep with Cuddy."

"You had the chance," House pointed out. "When she was all helpless over her kid you could have slid right in there and fixed her right up."

"I do occasionally refrain from the people I help out or befriend," Wilson said.

"Right!" House said sarcastically, insinuating that he had been helped and then seduced by the attractive doctor.

Wilson was inclined once again to roll his eyes. "As long as you didn't tell my wives, that didn't count," he replied, playing along. House snorted and stole a bite of Wilson's sandwich. He was glad that he could at least count on Wilson to be of a bit of help…even if it was only keeping his mind off of his failed relationship.


	31. Apples, Peaches, Bananas and Pears

Ch 31: Apples, Peaches, Bananas and Pears

"Christ! This place looks like a disaster area. I thought you two were supposed to give him something from throwing up?" House said, entering the patient room for the first time. The man was still vomiting and having nose bleeds and his room reeked of the evidence. Both Thirteen and Taub wore masks to try and block out some of the smell; House on the other hand, was going in 'all natural.'

"We gave him Finnagrin. It doesn't seem to be working," Taub said, stating the obvious. House rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, but didn't respond to that statement directly.

"Get his temperature and a fresh set of panels. This much vomiting and bleeding and he's chart is probably all over the place. When you're done with that get a janitor. He doesn't need the aroma of fresh vomit to bring on a new wave of bodily fluid expulsion." House walked out of the room and into the bathroom to retch privately. The odor was clinging to his skin, clothes, and hair and he wasn't sure he'd ever smell the same. He decided to grab a shower to try and stave off the smells and, sub sequentially, the urge to puke.

He got soap and shampoo out of Wilson' locker, which he knew the combination for, of course, and headed toward the faculty showers. As the hot water pulsed around him he thought of the days when Cuddy would have come into the shower with him, not solely for the purpose of showering, but to present him with other things…with sensual massages, blow jobs, shower sex. With all the stress he was under, he let himself relax for a moment and drift away to a place where he could once more do very dirty things to his boss. His eyes closed as his fantasy started to formulate in his mind.

She came in slowly, letting the first spray of water roll off of her body easily and glint in the florescent light that they stood under. Her naked body looked perfect standing before him; perky breasts just begging to be touched and the curves of her body leading down to her firm ass calling to him. He held back, however, wanting her to make the first move to signify that she wanted him.

He didn't wait long, as she was as needy for him, as he for her. Her slim fingers traced his collarbone for a moment, and then slid down to roam over his broad chest, taking in the texture of his chest hair and the skin beneath it. She moved her hands slowly down toward his abdomen, pausing to dip one finger into his belly button before moving even lower. As his loins tightened, she paused, rubbing circles on his hip bones and nearly driving him insane with the need to be touched.

He was almost at the point of placing her hands on his throbbing member, when she started moving them lower once more. She lightly brushed the dark curls surrounding his manhood, sending chills down his back and causing him to twitch in anticipation. A hand went around him and the delicious sensations shot straight through his tense body. He let his head fall back against the wall as that hand stroked him slowly, like velvet passing over his cock and swirling about the tip.

House let out a mewling noise that he had only been comfortable with letting go of when with her and his hands found their way to her body finally. He touched every part of her he could reach: her shoulders, neck, face, hair, lips, breasts, stomach, hips, back, ass, thighs, and finally the folds of her womanhood. He flicked a finger over her clit, causing her to start and a smile played over his face. She wanted him already.

He teased her for a moment before she pulled away and started sliding down to her knees on the tiled floor. House was more than happy to let her oblige. She stroked him a few more times, looking up at his face to gauge his reaction and taking in the hint of a smile on his face and the bliss exuding from him, though his eyes were still closed. She held him, then and rubbed the tip of his penis over her lips as though she were putting on lipstick, then flicked her tongue out to taste him.

He moaned loudly as she lapped at his precum, delighting in the familiarity of his taste. Cuddy licked him from base to tip a few times, drawing stronger groans from his throat and then took the entirety of him into her hot mouth. The sensations of her swirling her tongue over him while sucking made him dizzy and he had to grip her hair to brace himself. His strong hands on her, spurred her forward and she started sucking with more purpose, using her hand to stimulate the parts that she couldn't reach with her lips.

As he neared his release, House opened his eyes briefly, hoping the sight of his hand on his own cock, pumping furiously wouldn't be the end of his experience, but needing to actually see something, if only the wall, to tell him he was still at the hospital. What he didn't expect, however, was the body of his ex-fiancé manipulating him and his hand actually buried in her hair. His heart leapt into his throat and he gasped as his ball tightened almost painfully and he spilled his cum into her waiting mouth. He fell back against the wall and let go of her, squeezing his eyes closed and wondering what was going on.

She ran her hands over his chest as she stood, then let her thumbs explore his face. He forced his eyes open and looked at her, searching her face for any explanation that she could offer. Her eyes looked back at him trustingly and he didn't know what to do or say. "Cuddy," he breathed, not sure what he would say next. She simply smiled at him and placed a chase kiss on his lips.

As he dried himself off, Cuddy not ten feet away from him, House wondered when the fantasy had become reality and what he was to do now.


	32. Oops I Did it Again

Ch 32: Oops I Did it Again

House had gone home very confused. He'd opened a bottle of Jack Daniels and drained half of it by 8 p.m. on his own. Not knowing what else to do, he called Wilson to see if they could talk. The oncologist informed him that Thirteen was in the apartment and he couldn't leave her, but that House could come over and chat if he wanted. The thought of spilling his guts in front of his hot employee who had recently become his best friend's girl was not at all appealing, but he sucked it up, realizing that Wilson would tell her anyhow and grabbed his keys.

Fortunately, House wasn't so drunk that he had no idea what he was doing. He arrived at Wilson's apartment within an hour of talking to the other man on the phone and sheepishly greeted Thirteen as he entered the living room. "What's going on, House?" Wilson asked, grabbing a few beers and a glass of milk and settling down with Thirteen on the couch.

"You left work without telling me anything about what else I should do for the patient," Thirteen put in. "And you know Taub's an idiot…the panels were normal by the way, and all the other tests."

"I was a bit distracted…" House started.

"You took a shower," Wilson said. "And I know this because I have no shampoo at work anymore…"

"Don't get all pissy," House advised testily. "I'm trying to tell you a story. If you want to hear it, keep your mouth shut for five minutes…" Wilson and Thirteen exchanged a look, but complied with his demands. House cleared his throat and took a swig of beer before continuing with his story.

"Cuddy gave me a blow job in the shower," he announced. Wilson's jaw dropped and Thirteen burst out laughing.

House glared at her, but she waved it off. "Way to go, boss!" He rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Wilson.

"Did you two make up?" he wanted to know.

"No…well, she made a hell of a start," House muttered.

Thirteen snorted with laughter and Wilson's face broke into a smile as well. "Well do you want to make up?"

"If making up means fucking her senseless on her desk, then yes." House sighed. "I don't really know what to do…I didn't expect her to be such an avid apologizer…"

Wilson laughed. "I didn't really either, but if you keep her going for a bit longer, you might get the best apology of your life." Even House smiled at that. "You should talk to her," Wilson suggested. "I know you think that's just a stupid think people do to make themselves feel better, but if I know you, you have no idea what she wants or what you want or if that shower experience even happened. You need to talk to her."

House sighed. "Christ…I think you might be rubbing off on me…I do need to talk to her."

Wilson beamed. "I have done some good in the world."

"Helping poor cancer kids isn't good?" House asked surprised. "I thought that's what you lived for. Well that and sex with needy women." He started pointedly at Thirteen who promptly flipped him off. "You might actually have something with this one…" House commented.

Wilson grinned. "So you're actually going to talk to her?"

"Yeah, I guess so," House told him. "I'll leave her a message on facebook or something…"

"House!" Wilson and Thirteen chided together.

"Just kidding. Don't get your pregnant panties in a twist, nor your soon to be daddy ones…I feel sorry for whatever comes out of there," he indicated Thirteen's 'aesthetically pleasing bits' with a smirk.

The three of them sat around the coffee table for a while chatting about how House would go about hiring someone else until he got fed up with their input and downed three beers. "You're not going home like this," Wilson informed him. House was too far gone to argue and within half an hour he had passed out on the couch. Wilson covered him with an afghan and took Thirteen to bed, knowing that House wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.

House went in to work wearing the same clothes he had worn the day before and not caring if people noticed. He had something fairly important to discuss with Cuddy and didn't have time to shower or change clothes as he feared he would lose his determination. He entered her office, shut the door quickly and crossed the room. She looked up at him curiously from a stack of paperwork and was surprised to see so much fire in his eyes.

Without saying a word, House gathered her up in his arms and kissed her soundly. She relaxed into the embrace and wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the connection. The two broke apart after a few moments of fevered connection to breathe and House looked Cuddy square in the eye. She was a bit dizzy from the suddenness of their encounter and searched his face for some kind of explanation. Before she could ask him any questions, however he took her hands in his own. "We're getting married in three months," he informed her.

Cuddy's heart leapt in her chest and she threw her arms around him once more to draw him back into their kiss. Nothing else mattered at that moment as they connected on a new level. She silently thanked whomever was watching out for her that House had come back into her life.


	33. Jiggle, Wiggle, Slip and Slide

Ch 33: Jiggle, Wiggle, Slip and Slide

"So are you two going to get married or not?" Cuddy's sister was asking a few weeks later as they sat down for dinner surrounded by children and dogs and many, many noisemaking devices such as the television, cell phones, and pagers.

"Yes. We're getting married," Cuddy informed her with a smile that House saw didn't reach her eyes. He knew that her sister expected that Cuddy would stay single for the rest of her life, and if he didn't love her already, he would have asked Cuddy to marry him just to spite the younger woman. He sneered across the table at his soon to be brother-in-law and accepted the large helping of mashed potatoes that were offered by his fiancé.

"So you finally caught this bastard in your web, eh, Lisa?" he asked in not a very kind way. "How'd you do it?"

"Some people don't have to be talked into everything," Cuddy informed him in a semi-cold tone. House could tell it was going to be a long dinner experience with the three people around him arguing like they were supposed to be one-upping each other. He started chewing, partially enjoying the show, partially counting down the minutes until they could take Rachel and go back to Cuddy's place. He did have a fondness for dissention, but the annoying quality of Cuddy's family grated on his nerves.

Fortunately Cuddy claimed that they would have to get Rachel back so they were able to get away just after the mediocre pie was served. As Cuddy's sister waved them off from the front porch, he resisted the urge to throw a particularly smelly diaper out the window and into that immaculate yard. Cuddy sighed and he turned his attention back to her. "I don't know how you can stand those people, really…ten more minutes and I would have been ready to blow the garage up to get some real emotion out of them."

"They're…fuck it, they're ass holes. You'll just have to get used to putting up with them a few times per year unless you want to visit your family," she informed him.

"I don't know what's worse," he muttered. "Listening to mom go on about how she misses the great man that was my father or those idiots."

Cuddy chose not to acknowledge the pain she heard in his voice at the mention of his family and instead heaved another huge sigh. "Rachel is going to be surrounded by a bunch of rude people for the majority of her childhood."

"You're the one who decided that marrying me was a good idea," he replied. "I don't think it'll hurt her to experience some sarcasm anyway."

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "I wasn't talking about you…but now that I think of it I'll probably end up with two smart-asses in the family…"

House snickered. "You can always hope that Wilson will let her have play dates with the spawn that's soon to come shooting out of Thirteen."

"They're going to be good parents, House."

"Maybe…either that or we'll have to adopt another kid…"

She rolled her eyes once more. "Wilson has some parental feelings deep down…and I'm sure Thirteen has as well."

"You'd better hope so."

She decided to change the subject. "Rachel's almost potty trained…maybe it's time to start sending her to daycare…what do you think?"

"I think the sooner she's house trained the sooner we can get a dog…"

"Later. We should be focusing on what kinds of places we can consider taking her too, though. It's an important decision."

"I'll leave that stuff up to you…She probably won't care where it is as long as there are fudgecicles…"

"True. But we want to start her out on the right track. She's growing up pretty fast."

"Cuddy, she's a year and a half years old. I think we can postpone the talk about med school for a few years."

"I'm just saying that it's something we should consider."

House sighed now. "I hope our whole life isn't going to be filled with dealing with your family and where the kid wants to attend daycare…there are more important things to consider."

"Such as?"

"Sex," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. "Which I plan on having when we get back to Princeton." Cuddy couldn't help but smile at that notion.


	34. Happy Shiny People Bite the Dust

Ch 34: Shiny Happy People Bite the Dust

As promised, House took his fiancé to bed as soon as they pulled into her driveway. Rachel had been handed off to Wilson and Thirteen for the evening so Cuddy felt free enough to get a bit loud, which spurred House on. He particularly enjoyed her yelled exclamation that he was a sex god, for which he rewarded her by pounding her into the mattress even harder than before. "I really missed you…and your enthusiastic lovemaking while we were apart," she breathed as he settled into bed beside her, snuggling up to her for warmth.

"I missed you too," he admitted, hoping that she couldn't see the sadness in his eyes in the dim light.

"In a few months we'll be married, though," she pointed out brightly. "And we won't have to worry about all of this bullshit."

House sighed. "Actually we'll always have to deal with bullshit as we've incorporated it into our lives by the actions we choose to perform. You're marrying a complete ass hole…I just hope you'll be able to live with me and deal with it without going insane or hating me."

"I will never hate you," she replied, kissing him soundly. "I might kill you, though…just keep that in mind."

House snickered. He knew she'd get really pissed, but he doubted that she would actually resort to physical violence to keep him in line. Not that she would be able to do much to him unless she played really dirty and went for the leg… "Are you laughing at me?" she questioned. House put on an innocent face.

"I wouldn't do something like that. I'd laugh with Wilson about you, but that's a different story. He would be the instigator."  
"Right." Cuddy rolled her eyes, thankful that things were back to some semblance of normalcy. She really had missed House, but she knew that he was eventually be an ass to her again and was trying to train herself to deal with him without blowing it all out of proportion now that they were officially together. She sighed and settled deeper into her pillow, breathing in the familiar scent of her fabric softener mixed with House's particular scent. Smelling him inexplicably made her feel comfortable.

As she drifted off to sleep, House watched her eyes flutter and his heart skipped a beat. They had great sex and interesting conversations, he could admit, but he was still a bit unsure of how he felt about getting married. He loved Cuddy, of course, but the entire idea of marriage was mostly for her benefit…sort of a public announcement that he was committed to her. He sighed and wrapped his arms a bit more tightly around her, knowing that this was a step in the direction of growing up…maturing. It was a bookmark in the novel of his life. He drifted off quickly as well, dwelling on the thoughts of the woman in his arms in a white gown, professing her love for him.


	35. A New Face in the Old Crowd

Ch 35: A New Face in the Old Crowd

House was a bit more agitated than normal when he arrived at Princeton Plainsboro on Monday morning. Of course he had had mind blowing sex with Cuddy all weekend while his best friend and Thirteen enjoyed practicing for parenthood, but something in his subconscious kept niggling at him. He felt as though there was something he was forgetting and he hated that feeling more than any other feeling in the world. He didn't respond to the greetings of his two employees when he entered the office and logged on to his laptop instead.

"There are a few interesting cases from the E.R. that you might want to check out," Thirteen suggested, holding up a stack of files. Her baby bump was more prominent that ever, House noticed and indicated for her to put the files on his desk. He had to admit that she looked adorable pregnant, even if the child inside her would most likely end up having Wilson's ears.

Taub looked aimlessly around the room making strange shuffling noises with his shoes until House looked up and rolled his eyes. He remembered then what was bothering him and stood up. "Where are you going?" Taub asked.

"Well I wanted to fire you, but Cuddy bargained for your job, which had better mean that you owe her huge…but I'm still only working with two doctors…I need to hire someone else."

"Did Cuddy ask you to hire someone else?" Taub asked.

House narrowed his eyes. "You'd better watch your ass…it's not too late to bargain with Cuddy…" Taub at least had the sense to close his mouth.

"Do you have any prospects?" Thirteen asked as she and Taub followed House down the hall to Wilson's office.

"Not yet…I haven't consulted my secretary yet," he told her. Taub quirked an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Wilson was a bit confused to see House, Thirteen and Taub standing in his doorway at 10 in the morning. "I need your expertise…"

"Hiring strippers for your own bachelor party?" Wilson asked.

"Not until next month," House told him as though he should know these things. "Your other expertise."

"Oh, you want me to sit around with you while you make fun of people! Right…well I'll be down to your office when I finish up this paperwork."

"Now! I'm calling in potential new fellows!" House whined.

Wilson looked up and grinned. "Great. This stuff can wait a few hours. Are you going to let them watch too?" he asked indicating Taub and Thirteen. He stood and grabbed his coffee.

"Good point," House said. "You two can go to the clinic or something…"

"There's a forty year old woman in the E.R. with twitchy eyes and anal bleeding," Thirteen said quickly.

"Well don't just stand there, go get her full workup," House replied. When they scurried off to do his bidding he turned back to Wilson. "I am so glad I kept the hot one…" Wilson rolled his eyes and followed House down to his own office to start calling in interviewees.

Two hours and a plethora of Chinese food later House had lined up six interviews for the afternoon. He and Wilson chatted for a bit about the legitimacy of the anal bleed patient while they waited for the first applicant to show up. He was right on time, of course and Wilson stood to shake his hand as he took a seat in front of House's desk. "Tell me something personal about yourself," House said, dismissing the young man's greeting.

"I've got three goldfish at home named Chopper, Neon, and Peanut," the kid said hopefully.

"Boring," House replied. "I want something juicy…"

"I made out with my first cousin at the senior prom."

"Gross!" he replied, exchanging a shudder with Wilson across the room. "Out!"

"How was that supposed to be interesting?" He demanded when the kid was gone. Wilson shrugged, still attempting to shake the visions of incest out of his head.

The next applicant was a middle aged lady who had gone to med school after having two kids. She was neither smart enough or attractive enough for House to consider her, though he did manage to get a peek at her tramp stamp as she was leaving. A kid still in school, a plain looking, neurotic girl, and a set of twin dieticians later, House was no closer to finding someone to fill the spot he had available.

"We could try again tomorrow," Wilson suggested.

"No. I want a new team member today," House declared.

"You could be here all night with the likes of the crazies that have shown up so far…"

"I'll see if Cuddy wants midnight office sex," House told his friend.

"If you do that I'll observe the interviews from the safety of the differential room."

House laughed. "Fine…we're going to see more people today, though." As the evening wore on, House came to regret that particular idea. He had seen people of all types with very little potential to help him out. The most promising applicant had been an ex-stripper named 'Charmette' with huge implants. It was nearly 11 p.m. when House stood up to leave. "This is ridiculous…"

"Are the interviews still open?" a voice asked from the doorway. House sighed. "Fine…this is the last one though," House replied, looking to Wilson for support. The girl stepped into the light and House was a bit taken aback. She had long dirty blonde hair and chocolate eyes and the sexiest body he had seen outside a porno. She was all curves and creamy skin and he cleared his throat, settling back into his seat.

"Take a seat," he instructed, sharing a look with Wilson. "Why are you so late in showing up? Most people are getting ready to settle into bed or something by now."

"I work the night shift in the morgue," she responded. "I didn't even know you were hiring until I came in a few minutes ago."

"You work in the morgue?" House studied her. "Why do you want this job?"

"Well you're the best, and I've got a degree in medicine with a double specialty of endocrinology and hematology."

"How old are you?" House asked.

"I'll be 27 in December," she responded. "And before you ask, I know I'm young…"

"What's your name?" Wilson asked her.

"Sundai Bailey," she replied.

"Can I ask why you were working in the morgue with that kind of training?" House asked, impressed.

"Well it was the only job open at the time and I wanted to work here. I've been dead set on meeting you since Hopkins…"

"Thanks for coming in," House said, standing. "I've got to get some sleep though.

"Right. We'll thanks for the interview," she said, sticking out her hand. "And it was good to meet you."

He shook her hand. "You'd better get some sleep too if you plan on being here at 8."

"You mean I got the job?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes. Don't get all giddy on me though…I've still got to face the boss when I get into bed and I can't have your perfume all over me."

She beamed at him. "Too bad…" She walked out without another word and left both House and Wilson staring after her.

"This might not have been the best hire for my position," House said after a moment.

"She's good," Wilson argued.

"Too good…that's the problem."

Wilson laughed and clapped his friend on the back. "Well at least you've got your team…"


	36. High Heeled Doctors

Ch 36: High Heeled Doctors

House introduced the new team member to Taub and Thirteen early the next morning. She had come in looking professional, but smoking hot and he had a feeling that Thirteen was questioning her choice of sexual partners. "Alright, kids," he announced, one hand on Sundai's shoulder. "This is our new friend, Sundai Bailey. Play nice now!"

"Looks like mom and daddy adopted the hot babysitter," Taub muttered loud enough so that everyone in the room could hear him.

Sundai gave him a quizzical look, but shook it off as she extended her hand to take Thirteen's. "Nice to meet you."

"I'm Remy, but you can call me Thirteen," the pregnant woman said. "The cretin is Taub."

Sundai snorted as he proffered a hand, eyes not leaving the swell of her covered breasts. "I think you'll need a bit of training before you're housebroken," she said, ignoring his greeting.

House smiled, thinking things couldn't have worked out better. Taub was being shunned and the two hotties were mingling. "Well you'll have lots of time to get acquainted later, darlings. Right now, we have a case…" The women left the room, Thirteen winking at House before she left. Taub stayed behind for a moment and House reluctantly turned his gaze on the only unattractive member of his team. "Yes?"

"Does Cuddy know about the new fellow?" he asked, a sly smile spreading across his face. House's face darkened as Taub continued. "I don't think 'Mommy' would like it very much if Daddy had a new favorite…"

"Intimidation and blackmail only work if you're bigger than the other person or have something you can hold over their heads…I'll look into a remedial class in manipulation for you junior…for now, get to work or I'll tell Cuddy her protection can go to hell as I fuck her senseless on her desk…"

Taub's face contorted in an annoyed scowl and he left the office to follow the women down the hall. House dropped his bag on his desk, and then made his way down the hall to the office of the head of oncology. Wilson held a hand up as House entered and House noticed that he was on the phone.

"I'll give you a call back later and we can go over the details," he told the person on the other end of the line. "Right. 'Bye."

"What was that all about?" House asked curiously as he situated himself in the chair in across from Wilson.

"I'm planning a surprise for Thirteen," he replied waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"I think she's fairly surprised by the new kid…"

"Oh really?" There was a look in Wilson's eyes that led House to suspect that the younger man had been hoping for just that reaction.

"You can't have all the good ones," House chided, "And definitely not all at once."

Wilson simply smirked and took a sip of coffee. House rolled his eyes. "What did you wander in for, specifically? Or did you just want to discuss the dynamics of Sundai's deliciously sinful bust?"

"Christ I wish that were all that's on my mind. Taub is definitely getting too big for his breeches," House told his best friend. "Practically tried to threaten to tell Cuddy on me for hiring someone hot…or something of that nature."

"He's just pissed that he's missing out," Wilson reasoned.

"I thought so, but I think he's realized that with Cuddy protecting him, he can do whatever he wants and I can't punish him…that's what he thinks anyway."

"You might want to tell her about this problem," Wilson suggested.

"I will. But I've got a feeling the little fucker is already down there making me out to be a dirty old man hitting on his new fellow," House muttered darkly.

"Obviously he's wrong…she'll believe you over him anyway."

"I sure as hell hope so," House replied. "I don't need anything else getting in the way of my upcoming marital bliss."

Wilson laughed and House realized that he should act immediately to try and stop any further advances by Taub. He stood and was about to walk off without another word but Wilson stopped him. "You wanna do lunch?"

"Only if I'm not in…negotiations…with my fiancé," House replied with a smirk. Wilson feigned disgust but smiled when House had gone. House and Cuddy were the perfect match, he thought to himself.

House found Cuddy in the lobby giving instructions to the nurses on duty and waited impatiently for her to finish before dragging her into the office and locking the door behind them. "I have plans for you, my lovely…"

Cuddy looked pleasantly surprised. "Oh really?" House simply smirked in reply and before she knew it she was on top of a stack of paperwork with House's face buried between her thighs. "Christ, House!" she yelled out as she climaxed, fisting her hands in his hair to keep some grip on reality. He kissed his way back up her body when she finally relaxed and found her mouth again, letting her taste herself on him.

"That was amazing," she purred.

He smirked. "I have a gift." She rolled her eyes, but kissed him nonetheless. When she had put her clothes on, minus the lacy thong that House had tucked into his pocket, she settled into a chair and studied him.

"What's on your mind?" she asked.

"You, at the moment," he replied with a grin.

"Did you need something though?"

He shook his head. "I just wanted to come and ravish you…we'll talk business later."

Cuddy snorted. "Sex and work and business in bed?"

"Oh, no. Business at dinner and sex in bed…and then again at work."

She smiled. "I like the sound of that."

"Good," he said with a grin before disappearing from her office. He would get his sex and his work all in one go, he imagined. What a great thing to be dating your boss.


	37. Missing the Mark

Ch 37: Missing the Mark

House went about his day as per the norm, stopping periodically to see how his newest 'adoptee' was getting along, Taub shooting him speculative glances all the time. He talked to Wilson over lunch about his upcoming nuptials, which Cuddy had been meticulous in planning, and about the bachelor party which he would be the subject of for a change. "I'm so damned good at planning the damned things that it's weird to be on the receiving end…"

"You're just nervous because you didn't think you'd be experiencing one in your lifetime," Wilson said with a smirk, though both he and House knew it to be the truth.

"Do you really blame me?" he asked his friend. "I didn't exactly have lots of candidates running for the office of Mrs. House."

Wilson sighed. "Some of us are just lucky I suppose," he preened. House tossed a bun at his head, leaving a trail of butter from his forehead to the bridge of his nose. "That was mature," Wilson said sarcastically as House chuckled. He wiped the oily substance away with a napkin as House settled back in his seat.

"So are you and the 'baby mama' ever gonna tie the knot?" he asked.

"I haven't really thought much about it, honestly," Wilson replied.

"You not thinking about marriage? That's like the Kennedy's not thinking about money or Janet Jackson not thinking about whose junk will be stuck in her trunk next weekend."

"Really…we're just taking things as they come."

House sighed. "The whole damned world is going to hell; you're happily single with a baby on the way and I'm saying 'I do' in front of a crowd of Cuddy's friends and family."

"Things aren't that different, are they?" Wilson asked. "Sure people are in relationships that are perhaps not what is expected, but we're still the same. We've still got the same values and flaws."

"Habit is a part of that system," House countered. "And we are NOT conforming to our old habits."

It was Wilson's turn to laugh now. "Yes, well by your definition of our habits, Cuddy is going to die alone surrounded by weird baby books filled with pictures of kids she doesn't know, I'm going to move to Saudi Arabia and set up my own harem, and you're going to find the secret to life and tell the world to go to hell when they come knocking for the answers."

"That sounds about right."

"Well you might be onto something with the harem…"

House laughed. "I don't know…I just didn't expect things to turn out this way."

"And are you ok with it? Or would you like to mess up our respective relationships so that things can go according to your plan? Can you handle being less than miserable?" Wilson asked his best friend.

"I have no idea," House replied simply, taking another bite of his half of Wilson's sandwich.

Cuddy was waiting for House at his car, beaming when he limped out to the parking lot at five in the afternoon. "You look happy," he commented, unlocking the door for her and then for himself on the other side.

"Well my fiancé is taking me out to dinner tonight," she pointed out with a grin.

"And what are you going to give the man in return for shelling out his hard earned cash for your eating?" House asked as he settled in behind the steering wheel.

Cuddy smirked. "Oh, I think he'll be satisfied with his reimbursement."

House chuckled. "Where would you like to go?" he asked.

"I'll let you decide."

"The Canopy has a reservation for two," he said, waggling his eyebrows impressively.

"Seriously?" Cuddy was more than a bit shocked that House had actually made dinner reservations at a fairly classy restaurant.

"Serious as a heart attack," he told her.

"The fiancé is really going to be getting his money's worth," he said suggestively and he had to grip the wheel to keep from veering off the road in anticipation of the night to come.

They were seated promptly and House ordered the waiter to bring them the finest wine in the place. He pointed out that he really needed to celebrate their union a bit better than to dry hump each other until they acquired saddle sores. Though the imagery was less than pleasant, Cuddy was pleased to hear the sentiment and toasted her wonderful husband to be as soon as she was poured a glass of wine.

After placing their orders she looked House over and cleared her throat. He raised an eyebrow curiously. "Did you want to talk about the business now or after we're done?" she asked him.

"Now's fine if you want to get it out of the way so the fun can start…" he said with a mischievous smirk.

"Ok," she replied. "Let's have it."

"I want to fire Taub," House said, wasting no time beating around the bush.

She was a bit taken aback, but pulled herself together quickly. "Ok…why, might I ask?"

"He's a complete ass now that he knows you'll protect him. I hired another fellow and he made it seem like he would try to point out her physical attributes to you in order to 'get me in trouble.'"

"Is she pretty?"

"Yes, but that's not the point. Not why I hired her…she's good at her job. Has a double specialty and has been working in the hospital for a while, waiting for an interview with me."

"Oh. Ok…what's the problem then? Why does Taub think I should be informed about how great her ass is?"

"I tried to fire him before and he's trying to get back at me. I know you don't think he should be punished, but I want him gone."

After a moment Cuddy nodded. "Alright. But you're going to have to replace him. I can't let you have a pregnant doctor and a new hire doing all the work for the head of a department," she told him.

"I called Foreman and he agreed to come in and talk to me."

"What?!?" Cuddy was completely flabbergasted. "He…he's willing to come back?"

"Under the condition that Wilson is removed from any of my cases."

"You want me to fire your best friend?" she asked, even more shocked.

"No…I just won't have Wilson sit in on differentials. He'll come directly to me instead of one of my lackies."

Cuddy took a deep breath. "You've really thought this through, House."

"I do what's best for my department and my team," House replied.

"Ok. Do what you think is best."

The rest of the evening was permeated with good food and great sex and House was a very happy man at the end of the night as Cuddy snuggled down deeper into his arms.


	38. California Dreaming

Ch 38: California Dreaming

House grinned seeing Taub in the differential room sipping coffee when he entered his office the day after Cuddy had given him reign over his own team once again. The stupid smirk on the other man's face was almost too much for House to bear, but he kept his patience, knowing that soon Taub would be out on his ass and things would be getting back to a state of normalcy. He sent Sundai and Taub off to get an MRI on the patient and called Thirteen into his office.

"What's up?" she asked, leaning against the edge of his desk. Her protruding belly was adorable, he admitted as he looked her over.

"I know that you're not particularly comfortable with the events surrounding the announcement of your pregnancy, but I have to ask you to do something," he said, meeting her eyes frankly.

"Ok…"

"I asked Foreman to come back and work here to get things settled," he said, his gaze not leaving hers. She physically blanched, but composed herself again almost immediately.

"It's your choice who you hire and who you fire," she said a bit too quickly.

"Are you sure you won't mind him coming back?"

"It won't be the most fun I've had in my life, but I think I can handle it…I'm an adult after all." House nodded. "Does Wilson know?"

"Not yet. I just got the details taken care of last night. Taub's ass is gone."

"Really?" she was a bit surprised, but he could still detect the amusement in her voice. "Cuddy told you it was alright to fire him?"

"Yes," he replied, rolling his eyes. "The boss gave me permission. You want to see the note?"

Thirteen snorted. "Well I guess I can deal with Foreman being pissy if Taub leaves."

"Good. I'll just let Wilson know that he'll just have to come to me personally if he's involved with any cases and tell Taub to fuck off."

"Is that the only stipulation?"

"Yes. Did you think I was going to fire you?" he asked her.

"No…I just…I don't know. I figured he'd be more difficult to get back on the team." She met his eyes and he realized that she had actually thought he might let her go. He cleared his throat, deciding to let that slide.

"Well, maybe he's moved on."

"Maybe," she repeated.

"You feel like doing lunch with me and Wilson? He might be a little less annoyed if his spawn is in the vicinity when I tell him he's not allowed in the differential room," House said with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

"Alright." Thirteen smiled and followed House down the hall to inform Wilson of the lunch plan.

The smug look fell off of Taub's face fairly quickly when House announced that he was being replaced. The surgeon looked more than a bit put out. "Did Cuddy ok this decision?" he asked House.

"Yes. But you should know that I've got the real power to fire your ass, she's just the formality since you went groveling to her like a sick puppy." House smirked at the surgeon. "So pack your stuff and be gone by 5."

Taub glared at his now former boss. "You can't do this. I'll sue you for all you've got."

House snorted. "Right. Being a jackass and not following orders will get you a settlement…"

"There are procedures, House…"

"Yeah. Like blackmail? Or did you think I wouldn't bring that up? Get you shit and leave if you want to keep that off your record," the older man said, keeping most of the anger out of his voice.

"What the hell am I supposed to do now?"

"I dunno. Find a new job?"

Taub scowled at the older man, but didn't respond. He stood up after a moment and got his things out of the differential room. "Thanks for…whatever," he said sarcastically before heading down the hall.

House couldn't help but feel quite pleased with the way the interaction had gone. He was finally free of the tiny troublemaker and felt like he could finally breathe again. He went home that night to Cuddy and Rachel in a better mood than he had experienced in quite a long time.

Foreman started working at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital for the third time a little more than a week after Taub left for good. He greeted House curtly and ignored Thirteen altogether when he greeted the rest of the team. "Think he'll stay for a while this time?" Wilson asked his best friend from inside the head office.

"I dunno. I kinda like having him around, so I hope so. He's apparently the only constant I'm gonna get."

"What about me? Cuddy?"

"The only constant fellow," House said, rolling his eyes. "Don't be so needy or I'll have your girlfriend kick your ass. Needy is the reason women leave you…well that and your habitual cheating."

Wilson sighed. "Thanks for the advice. I wouldn't talk about failed relationships, though if I were you. Two months before you finally cement this thing for good."

"Are you saying I can't last that long?" House asked, a slight frown crossing his face.

"No," Wilson replied, searching for his words carefully. "I'm just saying that there could be a chance of social unrest within the next two months."

"Wanna make a bet?" House asked.

"About whether or not you'll screw something up between now and when you say I do? It's a given…and I really shouldn't be on how likely it is that my best friend's relationship will fail," Wilson pointed out.

"Oh, we're betting," House informed him. "Loser pays for the strippers for your next bachelor party."

Wilson snorted. "You're sure I'm going to have a next bachelor party? I told you Thirteen and I are taking things as they come."

"Right. I know you. You'll be married within the year," House predicted."

"Another bet?"

"Ok." The two men set the details for their bets and ended up settling on tickets to a Tom Petty Concert for the winner. "You're going to regret making bets with me!"

"Right. The day that you say 'I do' will be the day I pay for my own strippers…"

"Fortunately that bet is already on the table."

Wilson laughed. "Why don't you go address your new team, I have work to do!" He left House's office and the diagnostician entered the differential room with a smirk plastered all over his face.

"Ok, kiddies, this is how things are going down: the patient is leaving tomorrow…you actually solved the case. The first one of you who finds me the next interesting case will win a prize!" His eyes lit up exponentially as he announced the contest. "Ready, set, go!"

He watched the three doctors stroll leisurely out of the room to check different areas of the hospital with a grin. Things were getting interesting again…


	39. Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun!

Ch 39: Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun!

House was pleasantly surprised when Sundai came back with a file in her hand about an hour after he had sent the team off to look for new possibilities. "What's this?" he asked, deciding to see how far he could push her. He took the file from her extended hand and looked it over skeptically. The patient was a fourteen year old paraplegic with sudden diabetes symptoms and a nasty rash.

"The case you asked us to find," she replied, not in the least put off by his skeptical look.

"I asked you to find me a case in which the patient is destined to die a virgin?" he asked. "That doesn't seem like a thing I would do…but then again, I am all for new experiences."

"You asked for an interesting case," she replied. "And I think you'll agree with me that this qualifies as interesting."

He raised one eyebrow. "You find virginal weirdos interesting?" he questioned.

"Not as interesting as you, but that's not the interesting bit and you know it."

"Oh, I think that's plenty interesting…"

"House, focus. You wanted something strange and now you've got it…so order a round of tests and we can get started on diagnosing the virginal weirdo."

House smirked. "You're a clever one, aren't you? Knew I hired you for a reason."

"So you're going to start working on this case?" she asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"Go home. It's five…we're off at five unless we have a case pending…and right now I haven't accepted any cases."

"You can't just leave this kid until tomorrow…with this rapid a progression it's likely that he won't make it until tomorrow."

House feigned shock. "My God! I hadn't thought of that...Since you're the doctor that found our little freak, you'll have to make sure the kid survives if you want the aforementioned prize." She looked at him curiously. "Oh yeah…I know you want the prize…you'll have to work for it a bit, though."

"House," she protested. "This isn't about any prize; this kid is going to…"

"Die. I know," he cut her off. "But not if you're here to make him feel better." He stood up and made for the door. He paused and turned back to her, his hand on the glass. "Oh, and Sundai?"

"Yes?"

"Be sure to get a history while you're keeping our patient alive." He was gone before she could reply or ask any more questions and she simply sighed. She had known taking the job would be the most difficult experience of her life and now she was going to have to go with the flow if she wanted to keep the position.

House watched his new fellow head off toward the patient room from behind the nurse's station. She didn't look overly harried and for that he was glad. It seemed that she would fit well into his team, though he would need to train her to stand up to him once she learned to follow orders. He smirked, pleased with himself for having such great hiring skills, and headed toward the elevator to meet his fiancé.

It was nearly 10:30 when House strode into the office the next morning, to see Thirteen and Sundai waiting on him. "It's nice to have a few women waiting," he said as he tossed his bag in the floor next to his desk. Thirteen rolled her eyes and the girls shared a significant look before House spoke again. "Well are you gonna give me the stats on our patient or do I have to go ask him?"

"He's probably not resting like I told him to, so if you want to see him, feel free," Sundai started.

"Not my style to see patients," he told her. "I assume he didn't die during the night so one of you can get samples and the other can question the parents on recent activities and then help the other with testing."

"Sundai actually took care of getting his panels done. Did a full work up on the kid last night," Thirteen informed House with a smirk.

"Really? Interesting." He thought for a moment. "Alright. Well Thirteen can go talk to the parents and Sundai will get a special treat…clinic duty until Foreman drags his ass into work and then you'll get to help him check the house."

Sundai left the room, not questioning his orders, but Thirteen hung back for a moment. "Why are you pushing her harder even though she stayed here all night and did most of the work?"

"The same reason I hired forty people to fill three slots," he replied. She narrowed her eyes and House sighed. "I need to see how far I can push her and what she'll snap about. I don't have the luxury of breaking her in over a few months so this is going to be hard and dirty and way more than she'll have to endure in a job ever again, but if she makes it, I'll have found the absolute best choice for the job."

"What if she can't make it?" Thirteen asked. "What if she's crushed by what you force upon her and you kill the initiative that's already there?"

"Well then, she can go back to working in the morgue," he replied. "She's good, but I have to know what kind of limits she has."

"Why not ask her?"

"I didn't ask you guys," he said with a shrug. "You seem to be awfully interested in pleading her case…you aren't contemplating switching sides on Wilson, are you?"

"No…I just don't want to see you tear this girl apart."

House simply nodded, taking in the information he had been presented and storing it away for later use. The six month pregnant woman before him sighed deeply and walked out of the room, determining it better to let it go than press the issue more. House knew he'd be hearing all about her thoughts from Wilson, however.

He settled back in his chair and went over the different possible scenarios that his experiment could end as and wondered how strong this very intelligent new girl really was.


	40. Ouch Ouch, You're on my Hair!

Ch 40: Ouch Ouch, You're on my Hair!

"So How's the virginal weirdo?" House asked the team when he arrived. He had a tray of coffees in one hand and a look of amusement plastered all over his face. His team was a bit surprised to see him bearing gifts and were cautious when he placed the tray down on the table in front of them.

"What the hell did you guys do to him?" Foreman asked. It was his first day back and he had not been prepared for a 'nice' House. Thirteen shot him an annoyed look in response and picked up a cup, determined to spite Foreman whenever he acted 'too big for his breeches' so to speak. "You're going to drink that?" he asked incredulously.

"What's the big deal?" House asked. "I bring in coffee to celebrate the return of our fallen comrade and you think I'm out to kill you all off?"

He took a coffee out of the tray and took a sip, following Thirteen's lead. "He wouldn't kill an unborn child he won't kill you," Thirteen told her ex-boyfriend. "Either take a coffee or check on the patient."

"Tension!" House said, jumping on the opportunity to rib his employees a bit. Of course he hoped that the two of them would get more annoyed with him than each other, but that would take time. "Like two cats hissing at each other…or a married couple."

"I wouldn't make too many remarks like that one if you want to get to the 'married couple' stage," Sundai said with a grin.

"The new kid is hip to the comebacks? You old guys are pathetic."

"Don't listen to him that closely," Thirteen advised the newest doctor. "He's going to push you to see how far he can get."

"I can't now," House said, annoyed. "You've ruined it for me…she'll be expecting it. Pregnancy Hormones! Damn!" House took his coffee back to his private office and let the team disperse on their own. He had to go online for a wedding gift for Cuddy, his mood less than perky after Thirteen had given away his position with Sundai.

House's day was turning out poorly until he escaped to the clinic to blow off his hours in an exam room with only the television to talk at him. He settled back on the table, hands behind his head and legs propped up for a bit of relaxation, and before he knew it, he had dozed off.

Cuddy had been looking for House for a while and finally thought to check the clinic. Rosie, the head nurse, informed her that House had been in exam room three for nearly an hour and Cuddy thanked the woman before letting herself in. She wasn't surprised to find her fiancé snoring lightly on the exam table. A wicked idea popped into her head and she quietly locked the door, then crossed the room and took a roll of medical tape out of a drawer.

House woke up to see Cuddy hovering over him and he immediately tried to sit up. He was a bit worried when none of his limbs seemed to be working. "Ah ah ah…we're playing doctor and you're going to be the patient," she informed him.

"You taped me to the table?" he asked as he strained to see his bonds.

"Yes."

"Kinky," he replied with a grin. "Since when do you blow off work to blow me, though?"

"Your bad habits are starting to rub off on me," she said with a smirk. "So I thought…"

"I can guess where this is going," he told her. "And I like it very much."

Cuddy moved closer to him, pulling off a few more inches of tape and holding it between both thumbs and forefingers. "Good…but I hope you weren't thinking that you'd have any fun…" She placed the tape over his lips before he could protest, then kissed his temple. "I'm the one in charge today." He moaned into his closed mouth when she grazed his crotch as she moved away again.

House kept his eyes firmly on Cuddy as she performed a strip tease, sans music, in front of his eyes. He was reminded a bit of the hallucination he had had of her in the white number on the bus. She surprised him further, however, by revealing a sexy teal and black corset and g-string ensemble with garters and thigh high stockings, however.

Slowly all of her clothing was tossed onto the floor and she was left wearing only the garters and stockings. House nearly choked on his tongue when she settled down on a stool and spread her legs in front of him, then proceeded to touch herself. She sighed gently as her fingers worked to spread the folds of her intimacy, then caress the bundle of nerves that made her whole body shake.

While she used one hand to squeeze and tease her clit, Cuddy pushed herself open with the other and inserted first one, then two fingers into her dripping pussy. House's pants were tented hugely and she licked her lips seductively, before bringing herself to orgasm, eyes locked on his. When she was finished she stuck her fingers into her mouth, tasting herself, then teased her erect nipples for a bit.

"Would you like me to take a look at you?" she asked huskily as she crossed the room toward her fiancé, rubbing her body as she went. House murmured and attempted to nod, hoping she would get the idea. "What seems to be the problem?" she asked, slowly unfastening his trousers. She tugged his jeans down his legs to his ankles, and then returned to his boxer clad erection. "Your heart is racing," she breathed, fingers on his throat as on hand slipped under the band of the silky material. "Maybe you need a bit of…resuscitation…" She licked his chin and tugged his boxers down, freeing his hard cock and pushed his shirt up to lick his navel before touching him again.

House thrust his hips up toward her, but she pushed him back down again. "Patience is a virtue, love," she told him before she took all of him into her hot mouth. He arched off of the table and she swallowed repeatedly, giving him a bit of the friction he so desired. She pinned him back to the table and sucked him hard for several moments before taking away all contact with his privates. "This is against procedure," she said, moving her hips to hover over his, her opening poised over his throbbing member. "But I suppose I can risk it, if you'll promise me a great fuck…"

House would have promised her anything at the moment that she settled down on him, her hot, tight folds clinging to him and milking him deliciously. She started to rock and he thrust up into her. They pushed together desperately, both seeking release as the tension started to build within them both. House felt his balls tighten, but held back, wanting to push her over the edge before he spilled himself into her. She wasn't long in coming, fortunately as the thought of him desperately wanting her had had her aching with need for quite some time. She cried out as she clenched around him, not stopping her movements, though she was swearing incoherently and riding out bliss. He kept thrusting into her as his seed filled her and they kept moving until neither could take it anymore.

"That was amazing," he said hoarsely as soon as she pulled the tape off of his mouth. "You've got to do that again!"

She smiled. "Definitely…" They spent the rest of the evening in exam room three, replaying the game of doctor over and over again.


	41. Here for the Party

Ch 41: Here for the Party

House was settling into a hot bath when the phone rang. He groaned out loud, disappointed that someone would interrupt his quiet time with something as trivial as they were most likely doing. He stood up and wrapped a towel around his waist, then made his way toward the living room for the phone. He picked up and answered shortly, then paused as he heard the person on the other end of the line.

"In one month you will be bound in spirit and holy matrimony to the matriarch of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital," the voice said, a distorter clearly in use. "But are you ready for such a coupling? Soon a man will come and take you away. Don't try to fight as it will only get you into trouble. You will find the release of tension that you desire and will be officially prepared for marriage."

"Wilson?" House asked. "I'm trying to get a bath in so if you don't mind, we can talk about the bachelor party later."

The voice sighed, and, distorter still in use, replied. "You're not helping the mystery here, House."

House grinned. "Does Cuddy know you're trying to seduce me?" He could almost feel Wilson rolling his eyes.

"Dammit, House! Let me have my moment. You will be kidnapped in accordance with ritual and you will drink into oblivion with countless nude women surrounding you."

"Fine. Can we go over this later?"

"Don't be a pansy! Listen to me while you're in the bath for all I care, but listen!"

House limped back to the tub and listened patiently while Wilson rattled off all the things that he would have to 'endure' to become worthy of marrying Cuddy. When he finally finished, House's bath was cold and he once again stepped out. "Do you have any last requests as a single man?" Wilson asked.

"Can I kill you off?" House asked.

"Really? That's all you want? Your best friend…I mean, the man that warns you dead?"

"That and a pint of chocolate rum ice cream that I can lick off of a busty blonde," House replied. The laughter on the other end of the line made him smile as well.

"As you wish. For now, though, you'll have to endure a month of planning. Your friend Wilson also wants to know if you want to go to lunch…"

"Tell him to bring over some pizza and beer. Cuddy doesn't have any around here."

"I will relay the message," Wilson replied, chuckling. "Though might I add that if you had kept your own place until the vows were said, you wouldn't be put in such a poor living situation."

"Just get your ass over here," House replied before hanging up.

Wilson arrived shortly after.

**A/N: I know this is a bit short, but I had to add a bit in about the planning for the bachelor's party and didn't want to put it in during another chapter. More will come soon!!! ******


	42. Shot Through the Heart

Ch 42: Shot Through The Heart

House arrived amid an all out argument between Thirteen and Foreman the day after he was informed about his party from 'the mysterious beyond.' The pregnant woman was red in the face and stood screaming on one side of the table while Foreman's head looked ready to explode with a vein popping out of his temple on the other side. Sundai sat at the end watching fearfully as the more experienced team members went at it like angry dogs.

"What the fuck were you thinking? You can't do that! You just can't do it!" Thirteen was yelling at her ex-boyfriend.

"You're not in any position to tell me what I can and can't do!" Foreman yelled back. "You're too hormonal to know the difference between medicine and torture!"

House snorted at that comment, wondering if it was possible to confuse those particular concepts. "I'd like to know what you to are screaming about," he said, tossing his bag into a chair. "The entire hospital can hear you and it's a wonder someone hasn't called security."  
"This idiot keeps telling the patient that she'll die without treatment. A seven year old girl doesn't need to hear things like that!" Thirteen bellowed. House stuck a finger in his ear and turned it a bit, hoping to keep the ringing to a minimum.

"She needs to know the consequences of her actions," Foreman retorted, turning to House for back up. "If she doesn't tell us what her mother gave her for 'being sick' we'll never be able to treat her, let alone cure her."

"You could have just waited for the panels to come back," House suggested, holding up a file. "You told a seven year old she would die?"

"It's the truth," Foreman replied stepping forward to claim the file.

"Uh-uh…" House stepped around the man and handed the file to Sundai. "You're not going near the kid again. If she had decent parents, you'd be sued.

"I told you…" Thirteen started, but House cut her off.

"You're not allowed to gloat either. You hurt my ears…"

"But…"

"No buts, you're both going to join me in the inner office while Sundai starts the kid on her treatment." House nodded toward the newest team member, hoping she would take the hint and go on. To House's great pleasure, she wasn't as daft as Taub and did exactly what House hoped she would. "My office," he repeated over his shoulder, limping out of the differential room.

He settled down at his desk and waited for his fellows to join him before he spoke. "I know that you're not in the best of ways to work with each other, but you'll have to deal with it. Be professional. I can't have you yelling down hallways at each other, and as much as competition helps people get answers, spite keeps them from competing in a productive way." He took a deep breath. "I want you both on the team because you're both good, but I'll fire you if the fighting gets to this point again."

He took a long sip of coffee, looking at them over his cup. Thirteen was extremely pale, House assumed from the screaming match, and he took in Foreman's appearance. He looked back to the pregnant woman just in time to see her eyes roll back in her head. "Catch her!" he yelled, spitting his coffee all over his desk as she started to keel over. Foreman was quicker than he looked, fortunately, and caught her before she hit the ground.

"What's going on?" Cuddy asked, entering the office to see House scrambling around his desk and Foreman settle Thirteen onto the ground before yelling for a nurse.

"She's out!" House yelled, checking Thirteen for a pulse.

"Is she alright?" Wilson kept asking. It had been nearly an hour since Thirteen had passed out and he had been pacing her room since he got the word. House had Foreman and Sundai doing a full work up on the young doctor and he was monitoring her himself.

"I don't know," House repeated for what seemed like the hundredth time. "Why don't you go get a coffee or something?"

"I can't leave her," the oncologist mumbled.

At first, House had just thought that the stress of the argument had caused Thirteen to keel over and that perhaps rest and some fluids would do her good, but she had yet to respond to anything the doctors of PPTH were doing for her and he was beginning to get seriously worried.

"Do you think it could have something to do with her Hungtinton's?" Cuddy asked her fiancé while Wilson was in the bathroom.

"I have no idea," House replied. He sat with his friend until dinner, watching Thirteen and wondering whether or not she would survive.

"We should try to save the kid," Foreman suggested to House when the diagnostician finally returned to his own office.

"Are you suggesting a cesarean?" House asked.

"If you can't find out what's going on with her it could cause damage to the fetus."

House nodded. "I'll let Wilson know…the baby will be premature, but if we can't find out what's going on with Thirteen, she'll probably lose it."

"Two months premature, right? That's still a good chance of survival."

"I'll see what he wants to do."

"What do you mean? You don't even know what's wrong with her yet!" Wilson said in protest as House explained the idea of taking the baby early.

"You're my best friend and a good oncologist, but you're really not good in emotional situations like this," House said gently.

"Thanks," Wilson retorted sarcastically. "You'd be great, I'm sure."

"I didn't say that. You're going to have to make the decision, though."

Wilson sighed. "Do what you think is best. I can't do this shit anymore…I don't know why it is that every girl I get that could possibly turn out right ends up half-dead with you trying to fix them…" he said sadly.

"Don't worry…I won't fuck it up this time," House replied, turning away. He nodded to Chase, who was outside the glass door and the blond entered. He started prepping Thirteen for surgery, not meeting Wilson's eyes.


	43. Playing Doctor with Doctors

Ch 43: Playing Doctor with Doctors

"Are you sure this is the best thing to do?" Cuddy asked her fiancé as she followed him to the observation room above surgery.

"If you want the kid to survive, yes," he replied. "You know she can't undergo certain treatments with a baby inside her. Not only could trying to save her kill the kid, it could take her out too."

Cuddy sighed. "I can't believe this happened so fast."

"Foreman's a bit of an ass…he started this whole problem. Doesn't seem too guilty either," House told her.

"Maybe he just doesn't know how to handle things…"

House didn't respond to her theory, he was busy watching Chase wheel his team member into the OR, anesthesiologists giving her pain medication and a dose of gas in case she suddenly came out of it as she was being cut into. The Aussie scrubbed up, and then approached his patient cautiously. Within moments he was making the first incisions.

Wilson entered the observation room as Chase cut open Thirteen's swell of a belly. The oncologist was more than a little shaky and for good reason. He watched, hands held in Cuddy's, as Chase opened his girlfriend up and extracted the tiny baby. He choked back a sob as the nurse took the baby off to the side to clean it up.

"What did you find?" House demanded of his ex-fellow. Chase had set to sewing Thirteen up vigorously.

"She's about to crash!" he announced as the first cries of the child cut through the air.

"Your baby's alive," Cuddy said consolingly as the machinery attached to Thirteen went berserk. Nurses were all around the young doctor, helping Chase seal her up, checking for a pulse and monitoring her respiration.

"Get down here!" Chase yelled at House. Wilson broke into a sob and was escorted out of the observation room by the Dean of Medicine. House moved as quickly as possible into the OR, not stopping to get scrubbed up.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Look at her belly," Chase instructed. House found several bruises along Thirteen's abdomen.

"You don't think Foreman had anything to do with this, do you?" he asked as the surgical team stabilized Thirteen.

"No. They're her finger prints. She was holding on to her belly pretty tightly and apparently burst a blood vessel."

"Can you fix it? Why didn't we see it before?"

"She was bleeding into her liver."

"Could she survive with a partial transplant?" Cuddy asked House. Wilson had been taken to see his son and was unaware of his girlfriend's condition.

"It's ruined. No chance unless we can get her a transplant."

"She's got Huntington's," Cuddy breathed.

"Yes I know that," House replied annoyedly.

"She won't qualify for a transplant."

"Unless we ask for a transplant for someone who doesn't need one…someone who would qualify," he suggested.

"I-I…House…"

"I'm not asking you to lie to the board…I'm asking you to keep quiet."

"I'll do it," she answered after a few moments. "But who could you use as an excuse? Does anyone here 'need' a liver?"

"Not at the moment…"

"Then what are you going to do?"

"I have no idea, woman. I just came up with this plan fifteen minutes ago," he replied, exasperated. He paced around his office for a few moments.

"Why was she grabbing her stomach that hard?" Cuddy asked, changing the subject in hopes of getting a better result from talking to House.

"Pain. Her body apparently didn't enjoy the stress she was being put under and interpreted it as pain. A muscle cramp blown out of proportion."

"So it had nothing to do with her baby?"

"Not directly. It's still good that we got the baby out, though. It would have been killed very quickly with the amount of bleeding she's doing," he pointed out.

"A patient just came into the ER with a gunshot wound to the abdomen," Cameron announced from the door, she was breathless, as though she had ran to get to House.

"Need a liver transplant?" he asked.

"Nope."

"Good." Within ten minutes he had a meeting with the transplant board. Documents were produced stating that Carver Lyman needed a liver transplant and a liver was on the way to PPTH within the hour.

House stopped long enough to explain what was happening to Wilson. "She needs a full transplant?" Wilson asked incredulously, fear filling his eyes."

"Yes. Don't panic, though. I've got it covered. As soon as the liver gets here, she'll be in surgery."

"Will she make it?"

"I won't let this one go," House assured him. "Keep your eye on that kid…"

Wilson sat impatiently in the newborn ward waiting to hear from House about Thirteen. Cuddy had suggested he stay with the baby, and had made sure to keep him company so he couldn't view the procedure. He would have been in hysterics already without some kind of attendance.

"What are you going to call him?" Cuddy asked, rubbing Wilson's shoulder gently.

Wilson sniffed back some tears and looked at his boss. "We were thinking about Evan. My middle name."

"I think that's a great idea," she told him. "Any middle name?"

"Williams was her mother's maiden name. We're taking William as his middle name."

"You're kid's initials are 'EWW'?" House asked, coming up behind his best friend. Wilson looked up at him expectantly. "She's in recovery. Awake and all."


	44. Scare of a Lifetime

Ch 44: Scare of a Lifetime

Wilson followed House toward the recovery room, Cuddy not far behind, having left 'baby eww' as House had decided to call him, in the care of the nurses specializing in premie care. "Get it together if you expect her to ever respect you," House advised his friend.

"I'd still respect you if you were more emotional, Cuddy put in from behind the pair.

"Quiet woman, I'm talking to my friend," he replied. "Besides, he said after Wilson had rushed into the recovery room to see his girlfriend. "I wouldn't be me without the blatant disregard for the opinions of those around me." He winked at her and before she could respond, followed the oncologist inside.

Thirteen was propped up on several pillows when the House entered the room. Wilson was already clinging to her as though he were afraid she would die on the spot were he to let go. "How are you feeling?" Cuddy asked, coming up beside her fiancé to study Thirteen.

"Tired," she replied. "And very sore."

"You're not gonna want to do belly flops in the pool for a while," House suggested.

"They took the baby," Wilson blubbered. "I didn't know what else to tell them to do."

Thirteen patted his back gently. "You really do fall apart in this kind of situation, don't you?" He looked at her watery eyed and questioningly and she smiled.

"You're going to have to get used to being the man in the relationship if you stay with Wilson," House told her. "But I don't suppose you mind that, do you?" Thirteen grinned slyly at him and squeezed Wilson a bit tighter.

"You're just afraid that I'll take your woman," she retorted. "Speaking of which, where is Sundai?"

Cuddy looked between House and Thirteen incredulously. House simply shook his head, though. "If I didn't know any better, I would say you two were related," Cuddy said finally.

Thirteen snorted. "I think not."

"Aren't you even going to ask about the kid?" House taunted her. "You really are the man…"

"That was going to be my next question."

"He's doing fine. Breathing on his own and healthy, if a bit on the small side," Cuddy told the younger woman. "You can see him once they release you from here."

"Great." Thirteen stroked Wilson's hair. "I'm looking forward to meeting him."

"Wilson named the kid 'eww,'" House told her. She frowned at her boss. "Well, Evan William Wilson, really, but initials are important."

"Says the guy who doesn't have any children," Thirteen pointed out.

"Touche."

Within an hour, Thirteen was released from recovery, but not from the hospital altogether. House wanted to observe (or have other people observe) her for a while to make sure she stayed conscious before he turned her loose with some stitches and a mini Wilson. The father of the tiny baby had determined to stay in the hospital with his new family until they were released to go home completely.

Cuddy smiled at House in bed later that night.

"Do you think we'll ever get to that point?" she asked.

"You mean having kids? I don't think so…you tried that, remember."

Cuddy sighed. "We could adopt."

"Rachel isn't even 2 years old and you want to go looking for another demon child to take care of?" House asked. Cuddy swatted him hard and he frowned at her. "Ok, the demon spawn isn't half bad…"

"Rachel is a beautiful girl," Cuddy protested. "And you know that. You like her!"

House sighed. "Fine…maybe a little."

Cuddy smiled smugly. "But maybe after a while we'll feel comfortable enough to take in another baby."

"Maybe," House conceded, not particularly caring either way. He was just happy to be having such a conversation. After all that he had gone through to find love and all that he and Cuddy had experienced during the year of their relationship, he was very pleased to have come out on top. There was of course still a month to go before the wedding however, but he thought that if they could make it to the altar, they would be able to survive anything.

House lay with Cuddy in his arms thinking about the life that he hoped to have with her, complete with lots of interesting cases, fights, and make –up sex sessions. Things were finally turning around for him. He even quite liked Rachel, the baby that he had warned Cuddy against keeping. He was glad that she hadn't taken his advice as the girl had become very important to him.


	45. Not Nearly Enough

Ch 45: Not Nearly Enough

House sighed deeply, breathing in the scent of the woman he was going to be spending the rest of his life waking up with. He liked the secure feeling, even if it meant he was going to have to get used to getting used to things. He wasn't nearly as finicky as Kutner had been about things being fresh and new all the time, but House obviously got bored quickly. He had a feeling that Cuddy would be able to keep him on his toes, however.

"Morning, sleepy head," she said softly as he looked over at her. He frowned a bit and she smiled, clearly amused that she had gotten under his skin.

"Sleepy head? Am I a child? I'm nothing like that little hellion you took in last year…"

She smacked his chest playfully. "What's with all this Rachel downing?" she asked. "Last night you called her a 'demon spawn' and today a 'hellion,' are you having second thoughts about taking on a life with a child?" she asked. He could see the worry in her eyes and kissed her soundly, hoping to stave off any thoughts of doubts that could possibly be filling her head.

"You worry too much," he informed her after breaking their kiss. "I just like messing with you about her…I told you that she's a decent kid."

Cuddy smiled. "So she's growing on you?"

"I guess so. Don't go spreading that bit of information around, though. I don't want people at the hospital to think I've gone soft or something," he informed her.

"I think you have a soft spot for kids," she told him. "Babies are the only patients you've ever been known to stay around for more than a few moments to berate or beat someone into treatment."

"You're crazy if you think I get all warm and fuzzy on the inside about tiny versions of stupid adults. The only people who want children are those who assume the world loves them…people who are in love with themselves."

Cuddy snorted. "Alright…"

He frowned at her reaction, but didn't feel like pursing it. He looked instead toward the bathroom. "I feel like a shower," he said, a naughty look crossing his face. "Would you like to join me?"

Cuddy smiled. "What do I get if I do decide to join you?" she asked impetuously.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"Hmm…" she feigned thinking, then leant over and whispered in his ear. "You fucking me inside out."

"I can do that," he replied, a bit surprised that she was so filthy mouthed. He liked it…his cock already throbbing from her words. He led her into the bathroom and turned the shower on, then threw her against the shower wall, her thong still on and getting soaked within minutes.

"We're still wearing some clothes," she informed him breathlessly after a hot, wet kiss.

"I know that. I thought it would be a fun variation on an even more fun activity," he replied, sucking just hard enough on her neck to leave a mark. She bit her lip and pushed the fabric of his boxers down far enough to free his straining erection. He pushed aside the material of her flimsy underwear and plunged home, lifting her off her feet as a result.

Cuddy cried out against him as he stretched her, filled her, and then began thrusting into her like mad. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing against the wall to take most of the pressure off of his legs as he pounded into her wet pussy. He grunted with the force of his thrusts and she cried out again. He covered her mouth with his own as he claimed her body fully. He was hitting her g-spot every time he entered her and it wasn't long before she reacted to such treatment, moaning loudly into his mouth as her body convulsed around him. He poured his seed into her waiting depths and kept thrusting until he couldn't go any longer.

They slid to the floor, still attached and panted heavily, the water streaming over them, and adding to their sated state. Finally after several moments, House removed himself from her folds and stripped off his boxers. She followed suit, standing up to remove her thong. "I could get used to this," he informed her.

"You're going to have to," she replied with a grin.

House and Cuddy were a bit late for work, and Wilson was waiting impatiently for his friend in his office. "I need your help!" he told House. "Thirteen apparently thinks I'll leave her. I don't know what's come over her."

"Oh shit," House replied.

"What is it?" Wilson demanded.

"She's still sick. It wasn't just stress due to arguing with Foreman."

Wilson's eyes got as round as saucers as House exited the room. He followed his friend to get the team together. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know that yet," House replied. He spotted Foreman and let out a loud whistle. "Get over here. We have a new case!" Foreman grudgingly left the side of a busty blond by the coffee machine in the clinic and joined House and Wilson. "Where's Sundai?" House asked.

"In exam room 2 with a patient," Foreman replied. "What's going on?"

"Tell her to finish up and meet us in the differential room," House told him. "Thirteen's getting worse."

"Her Huntington's?" the neurologist asked.

"Nope…something else."

**A/N:**

**Working on a few different things right now and I'm planning on updating soon, but don't be upset if I don't get to. College waits for no (wo)man…or in this case House fan…**


	46. How to Save a Life

Ch 46: How to Save a Life

Wilson was once again utterly horrified as House and the team ran another full workup on Thirteen. Paranoia, extreme bruising, pain, and syncope were the symptoms that had piled on top of her and the team that she was a part of worked for three days nonstop to try and find some cause for the illness. House sat in his office, head in his hands while Wilson sniffled in the corner holding Evan in his arms. "You should put that damned thing down," House told his friend cruelly when the sound of Wilson's weeping and kisses on the baby's head became more maddening than House could bear.

The oncologist looked over at his friend, shocked. "He's my son, House," Wilson pointed out.

"He might not be much longer if you wool him to death." House replied. He sighed deeply. "Sorry…I'm just trying to think." He rubbed his leg anxiously, stress making it throb more than usual. Wilson watched him carefully for a while, simply holding Evan close to him.

"I can't believe that on top of everything else, she's going to miss seeing her child grow up…as if Huntington's isn't bad enough," Wilson lamented.

House looked up, an idea forming in his head. "Get in here!" he yelled to Foreman, who was sitting in the differential room.

"What is it?" Wilson demanded. "What's going on?"

"Test Thirteen for Huntington's again," House ordered, ignoring Wilson.

"She's got it," Foreman said tiredly. "There really isn't any reason to test her for something we know she has."

"Unless she doesn't have it…" Wilson's eyes were as large as saucers.

"Exactly. Now go." House stood and Wilson followed him down to the patient room where Thirteen was being taken care of. "If she's not positive for Huntington's we've been searching for the wrong thing. Either we need one of the machines is broken or she's got something else…and the sooner we find out what that something else is the better."

House was informed a few hours later that the test proving Thirteen had Huntington's was completely wrong. The machine that had performed her test was thrown out and he worked for hours with Foreman and Sundai to come up with more explanations as to why Thirteen was sick. "Come on people," he ordered. "Huntinton's is off the table…we're left with pain, bruising, paranoia, and syncope. THINK!"

"Paranoia is possible with bad blood," Sundai put in. Sense of forboding and all of that. The rest could be explained by the unexpected stress put on her as a result of her argument with Foreman."

"Blood disorder is more likely," Foreman replied, obviously not appreciating her thoughts on the matter since they involved him.

"Sundai can check for tainted blood. You've already run several blood panels and nothing's come up," House said firmly.

"We could check her marrow for Leukemia," Foreman suggested.

"Let's not jump the gun," House replied. "Tainted blood is a bit easier on the patient."

"Since when are you easier on the patient?" Foreman asked resentfully.

"Since I think that tainted blood is a better diagnosis."

"Are you just putting it out there because you want to throw it in my face or because you're doing something outside your relationship with this new hire?"

"Don't question my personal life and I won't kick your ass," House replied. "Go," he instructed the girl who had been caught in the crossfire.

"Why is this always about what you want? What you think is best?" Foreman asked.

"I'm head of the department," House said simply. "Why does everyone around here think I'm going to fuck up my relationship?"

"It's happened before," Foreman threw back at him as he walked out.

"If you quit this time, that's it!" House yelled after him. He knew however that the neurologist would be back as he always came back. He occupied himself in his office while things were worked out with Thirteen. Bad blood was designated the cause of her illness within the next few hours and House, tired and cranky, allowed Cuddy to take him home.


	47. Bourbon, Scotch, and Beer

Ch 47: Bourbon, Scotch and Beer

Nearly two weeks after she had been diagnosed and her treatment was started, Thirteen was allowed to take her baby home for the first time. She smiled brightly as she looked into his large brown eyes, so much like Wilson's that she couldn't help thinking of him as a 'daddy's boy' already. He was small, but had fat little cheeks and the most precious toes she had ever seen. Wilson was practically strutting as they left the hospital, Cuddy and House waiting on them at the nurses' station in the entrance.

"Have you changed the name?" House asked the happy trio.

Wilson rolled his eyes. "Evan is a good name."

"When your kid gets beat up by my kid on the playground for being called 'eww' then you'll realize that I was right," he told his best friend.

"Since when are you having kids?" Thirteen asked with a smirk in Cuddy's direction.

"Figure of speech," House started, but Cuddy cut him off.

"I hope you guys get some rest. I know your maternity leave isn't supposed to start until next month, but I talked to human resources," she told Thirteen. "Enjoy spending time with your baby!" She smiled warmly as Wilson stuck his chest out a bit more, ever the proud papa.

"Before you know it, the kid will be tattooed and sexed up…enjoy the quiet while you can," House called after the departing family. Wilson threw his hand up to acknowledge House's appreciation for the baby and they departed. House turned to his fiancé. "We'll be taking a leave of absence as well pretty soon," he said with a grin.

"I know," she replied, looking into his eyes with love shining from hers. "And all those vacation days will certainly pay off."

He chuckled. "You'd better believe it. But by the time we get back, Amy will probably have turned Rachel into a little monster," he said, mentioning Cuddy's sister.

"Don't remind me," she sighed. Wilson and Thirteen had planned on keeping Rachel during the honeymoon, but in light of their early addition and the hospital stay, Cuddy had asked her sister to take the toddler.

"Why don't we take her with us," House suggested to Cuddy's utter amazement.

"W-what?"

"Do you want to take the kid to Aruba?" he asked.

"House!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him into a tight embrace, earning several catcalls from passersby. They pulled apart, Cuddy blushing furioiusly. "Come with me," she told him, pulling his hand and moving toward her office.

"I like the sound of this!" he announced loudly, earning a few whistles from the nurses.

Once inside, Cuddy settled down on her couch with him. "Do you mean that? You wouldn't mind bringing Rachel?"

"I suggested it, didn't I?" he asked.

"You are so wonderful!" she squealed, sounding like an adolescent who was just presented with their first car. She pressed her lips hungrily to House's wanting to thank him then and there for his sentiment. He replied enthusiastically, wrapping his arms around her and settling back against the couch for a good make out session, Cuddy apparently had other ideas, though. She pressed him against the soft furniture with her body, hiking up her skirt and grinding against his crotch. He groaned appreciatively when she began to lick the tender spot just under his ear with fervor.

After he was completely hard and ready to burst out of his pants, she slid down, carefully avoiding his right thigh, and settled herself between his knees. "What are you doing?" he asked, watching her unfasten the jeans. She simply smiled back at him in response, a hungry look in her eyes.

There was no need for questions when Cuddy freed House from the confines of his trousers and licked the tip of his head. He threw his head back a she started swirling her tongue along the sides of his shaft, teasing him slowly until he was desperate for her mouth to be on him fully. She wasn't done with her torturously slow ministrations, however, and abandoned his throbbing cock for his balls, taking one into her mouth and sucking. He swore loudly as the sensations filled him, she switched testicles and repeated her actions, then switched back and forth again and again until he was mad with desire.

Finally, she enveloped him in her hot mouth and sucked greedily at him, urging him to release his tensions and seed into her mouth, he wanted to hold out, however and kept himself in check as she bobbed her head in time with the frantic beating of his heart. He buried his fingers in her hair, guiding her and thrusting up slightly as the tension built up inside him. She took all of him in, gagging only slightly when he started getting closer to the edge. He thrust wantonly into her mouth, and came spurting salty streams into her throat. The pleasure washed over him and Cuddy continued to lick him, determined to please him until the very end. When he was completely soft again, she pulled back, looking up at him from her position on the floor.

"I love you so much," he said raggedly, his breathing still not completely normal.

"I love you too, House," she replied, placing a gentle kiss on each of his knees. "And I will do absolutely anything to make you happy."

"I can see that," he said with a grin.

She swatted him playfully. "Thank you."

"No thank you…I'm sure the kid will be happier with us than Amy anyway…"

She beamed at him. "Of course she will…we're going to be a family."

House had to agree. He was going to be part of a family for the first time in his life after he and Cuddy said their vows. He couldn't stop smiling as he pulled his pants back up. "I have got to tell Wilson about this!"

Cuddy rolled her eyes at him. "Not if you want sex before we say 'I do,'" she replied. House simply grinned mischievously at her as he exited her office.

"See you for dinner…"


	48. Candy, Coco, Honey and the Food Gang

Ch 48: Candy, Coco, Honey and the Food Gang

"What's going on?" Cuddy asked Wilson suspiciously as he ushered a grinning House out of the hospital late one Friday evening. The oncologist was beet red and hadn't given any explanation of his actions except that he needed his best friend's help. He was tugging at House's sleeves like an impatient child in a candy store and she had to wonder if he had some devious plan for a bachelor's party.

"Erm…I just need his help," he said, trying and failing to brush her off.

"You're taking him to get liquored up and look at a bunch of naked women, aren't you?"

"Why would you think that?" Wilson asked.

"The wedding is in one month exactly and he hasn't come begging for my forgiveness for something stupid he did at a bachelor's party yet," she replied, one hand on her hip.

"You think I'd do something stupid?" House piped up.

"Of course you would. The notorious horrible drunk here can't keep tabs on you," she said disdainfully.

"Hey!" Wilson protested, not liking where her remarks were leaving him.

"Look, if I wanted to go to a party, there really isn't anything you could do to stop me," House told his fiancé defiantly.

"No, but I could sure as hell call the wedding off," she retorted, fire in her eyes.

"Look, it's not a big deal. I'll make sure to keep him out of trouble!" Wilson told her, trying to diffuse the situation.

"So it is a party?" she demanded.

"Sort of…really it's just a few beers with some guys."

"No strippers?" House and Cuddy said simultaneously, the former disappointedly, the latter surprised.

"No strippers. We couldn't even find anyone willing to take their clothes off in front of House…I tried to recruit Chase, but…" Wilson shook his head. "Not interested."

Cuddy narrowed her eyes. "If something happens to break us up, I'll hold you personally responsible!" she said, poking a finger into her employee and friend's chest. Wilson looked completely flabbergasted, not knowing what to say. Finally after a moment, Cuddy turned on her heel, throwing a dirty look back over her shoulder at Wilson, and traipsed back into her office.

"Wow…that went well," House stated sarcastically.

Wilson let out a breath he had been holding. "I thought she might actually castrate both of us!"

"So no strippers then?" House asked, a bit dejectedly.

"You are doing this just once…" Wilson replied a spark in his eye. "So I got all the strippers I could find."

House returned his friend's grin. "Cuddy is going to be so pissed if she finds out!"

"She'd better not find out then," Wilson warned.

The party was already raving when House and Wilson arrived in Wilson's apartment. Thirteen was at the bar, pouring drinks for Chase and Cameron and wearing a tube top that was strangely flattering, considering she had given birth just a few short weeks before. "I didn't expect her to bounce back that fast," House commented upon spotting her.

"She's a fighter, alright," Wilson replied cheekily.

"Where's the kid?"

"We took him to a baby sitter's place," Wilson admitted. "Didn't like the thought of him being here with such things going on."

"Are mommy and daddy going to do dirty things while the baby sitter is still on the clock?" House questioned, much to Wilson's embarrassment.

"It is a full night of babysitting that we're paying for…"

House laughed loudly and allowed Wilson to lead him over to a blonde and a brunette who seemed to be getting rather friendly in nothing but their underwear by the bar. Thirteen had been eyeing the pair as well. "Coco and Honey," Wilson introduced. "And this is the lucky man!"

"Nice to meet you," the blonde said, extending her hand. "I'm Honey."

"You must be Coco, then," House said, extending his other hand to the brunette. She giggled in response and rubbed her breasts against his outstretched hand. "You chose well, my friend," House told Wilson, earning a laugh.

"I try," he responded, turning to stare at the girl who had taken up residence on top of the bar and was dancing in a pair of booty shorts and a bra.

"Is that?" House asked, astonished.

"Oh yes…Sundai decided to join the festivities," Wilson replied with a grin.

"Oh my damn…"  
The party continued well on into the night and House got fairly friendly with the pair of girls he had met in the beginning. Sundai gave him a lap dance, much to the amusement of the doctors of PPTH, Thirteen in particular. "This doesn't leave the apartment!" she announced. "A onetime experience," she added in House's ear. House ended up drunk in a pile of female bodies on an air mattress in Wilson's floor for the night. Sundai's bottom was pressed firmly against his crotch.

He woke up to the sensation of hips grinding into his own and realized that his employee was moving in her sleep. His hard on was pressing into her firm ass and he inwardly groaned, hoping Cuddy never found out about his endeavors from the previous night. A soft moan from Sundai had him wondering what had gotten into her that she was so open with him. He automatically pressed against her a bit when her bum rubbed against his erection once again. He wasn't completely sober and so the thought that he was doing something that was not at all a good idea never crossed his mind. He pulled her even closer, grabbing one of her breasts with one hand and securing her against him with the other.

Before House realized what was going on, she had awakened and turned around to face him. She licked his bottom lip seductively and he gave in to her, kissing her hard and pressing his tented trousers between the material of her booty shorts. Clothes went flying and bodies were moved aside as House and Sundai sought to get closer to one another. Some of the strippers woke up and watched as she mounted his naked cock and began to ride him. He threw his head back and moaned as the sensation of her tight body surrounding him filled his senses.

Things heated up as the other girls started joining in. Honey moved closer to the action first, kissing Sundai a bit, then spreading her legs over House's face and urging him to take his fill. He plunged his tongue into her as she rubbed herself on him. Coco and a girl he remembered being called Candy each took on of Sundai's breasts into their mouth and began sucking, touching themselves liberally and rubbing their bodies along the pair fucking. Sundai climaxed around House for the first time after slamming herself down onto his stiff member repeatedly. He had to adjust the party accordingly when she lost some of the mobility under the waves of pleasure washing over her. He put her on her back and began thrusing into her as several girls swamped them, suckling her breasts, offering their wet pussies up to her hungry mouth, licking at House's balls as the slapped against Sundai's firm body and spreading themselves out for House to devour.

As House pounded into his employee and licked another girl's hot young cunt, those still in the apartment became one huge orgy, getting attention from wherever they could take it and begging for more like whores. House found release inside of Sundai's body after a long while and moved aside so a girl with a double ended dildo could continue the assault on the girl who had been sexed into six orgasms. Girls came to House and sucked his cock, licking him clean and rubbing their pussies all over his body, fighting for the attentions of his mouth. He was hard again before long and Bubbles, a voluptuous redhead replaced her lips and tongue with her vagina.

This went on for hours and hours until House was thoroughly worn out. Eventually he made his way back over to Sundai to lick clean her battered pussy and take her one last time before passing out just as the sun broke through the twilight. He didn't wake again until Wilson's voice disturbed his sleep, sounding horrified and jealous all at the same time. "What happened?" he demanded of House, who was being licked by a mocha skinned girl called Sexi Lexi.

"I don't know…I think I fucked up," he said, looking down as he came into the girl's mouth.

"Yeah you did."


	49. Walls Come Tumbling Down

Ch 49: Walls Come Crashing Down

"House? What are you doing?" House asked his friend.

"I fucked up big time Wilson," House muttered, rubbing his temples.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I had sex with all the girls at the party last night," he replied his heart breaking when he imagined Cuddy's reaction to his unfaithfulness.

"House? Are you alright?" the oncologist asked, studying his friend with concern filling his eyes.

"Not really. She's going to hate me?"

"Cuddy?" Wilson asked.

"Yes, Cuddy. My fiancé is going to hate me for fucking around. Are you still confused about the concept?"

"Do you even know where you are?" Wilson asked, placing a hand on House's chest.

House surveyed his surroundings and was more than a bit shocked to find himself alone in a room with Wilson, still fully clothed and aroused beyond measure. He didn't bother to hide his obviously tented jeans. He looked pleadingly up at his best friend and found more confusion and concern than he would have thought possible in such a situation. He would have expected anger or disappointment, but this was beyond him. "I'm at your apartment," he answered after a moment.

"Yeah, where the party's been over for hours. And you didn't sleep with anyone."

"I had sex with every stripper here at the same time…Sundai too!" House protested, wanting Wilson to berate him…hit him, something to punish him for his misdeeds. He turned toward the door, only to be stopped by a hand on his arm.

"Where are you going?" Wilson asked.

"To confess. Forgive me father for I have sinned," he said, his eyes rolling back into his head. He collapsed in a heap across the couch that he had slept on and Wilson yelled for Thirteen to come out of the bedroom.

"What's going on?" she asked groggily, wrapped in nothing but a sheet. She spotted House and made her way over to her boyfriend's side. "Is he ok?"

"I think he's sick," Wilson told her. "Call 911."

Thirteen got dressed and then she and Wilson followed the ambulance to Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. House was rushed into the emergency room and Cameron had them wait outside as House's stomach was pumped. She came out to them, grim faced and sweating. "What's going on?" Wilson asked.

"He overdosed on Vicodin again," she told them.

"What? He hasn't been taking Vicodin since his episode last year," Wilson informed her. "I would have noticed...Cuddy would have noticed."

"There's enough in his system to kill him," she replied. "If he slipped up, he could have accidentally took too many to handle. His body's not used to it anymore."

"He didn't slip up," Wilson argued.

"Look. We had his bachelor party last night. He had a lot to drink…do you think someone could have slipped him something?" Thirteen asked.

"It's possible," Cameron replied. "He'll be fine, but most likely this is going to go onto his record and he'll have to see the board about it…he's been in this situation before and they aren't likely to be forgiving."

"Have you called Cuddy?" Thirteen questioned the blonde.

"Yeah, I had a nurse phone her as soon as he came in. She'll be in shortly."

"She's not going to be happy," Wilson said. "She didn't even want him to come to this party."  
"Do you think she could keep it off the record?" Thirteen asked.

"I won't file anything until she gets here," Cameron told them, looking back toward the closed curtains that hid House from view.

"I want to know how that Vicodin got into his system," Wilson told Thirteen when Cameron returned to her job.

"A stripper?" she asked. "You said he was hallucinating a bunch of stuff about strippers."

"I'm going to find out," he replied, steeling himself for the lecture that was sure to come as Cuddy entered the room.

"Where is he?" she asked. They pointed her toward his curtain and she went straight to him, not bothering to ask questions. Tears had stained her face and Wilson couldn't have felt sorrier for her if he House had been killed. She had been worried about him and he had ended up in the hospital. The outcome couldn't be good.


	50. Giving in, Giving Up

Ch 50: Give in, Give up

"I can't believe that he would slip up," Cuddy sighed. She was sitting with Wilson and Thirteen in her office, while Cameron conducted another blood test. House had insisted upon it after insisting repeatedly that he was clean and hadn't slipped up. Cuddy wasn't easily convinced and Wilson worried about what that would mean for the two of them.

"Are you sure he did slip up, though?" Thirteen asked, as though reading Wilson's mind. Cuddy looked at the younger woman as though she had no idea what she was talking about.

"Of course he did. Why else would he be so insistent that he didn't?"

"Maybe he didn't…" Thirteen replied, trying to keep the sarcasm to a minimum. Cuddy was still her boss, even if her job was more than a little unorthodox.

"You actually think that someone would want to hurt House so much that they would slip a couple crushed Vicodin into his drink at some party?" Cuddy asked skeptically. "Doesn't this seem like a scheme he would cook up?"

"I know you're upset. Really upset, and especially because you didn't want him to go to a bachelor's party anyway, but you shouldn't take everything out on him," Wilson said, stepping between the two women who were behaving like angry cats.

"Would you like to take the blame, then?" she asked.

"It's more my fault than his. I should have kept an eye on the people near the drinks. Or at least near House. I was a bit preoccupied with getting laid," he admitted. Thirteen grinned at him and they shared a look.

"I just can't believe this is happening. This really put me in a difficult situation."

"What do you mean?" Wilson asked.

"If I don't lie or destroy paperwork, he'll be put on probation. He won't be able to treat patients."

"What?"

"He's right on the border of recklessness as it is."

"But probation isn't all bad, right?" Thirteen asked. "After a month or two he'll get the license back."

"No. He'll have to go in front of a board. He'll have to argue about why he should get the license back. And he'll have to be enrolled in a treatment…rehab, and you all know how that'll work out."

Wilson sighed. "So what are you going to do?"

"So far there aren't any names on the records we have," she replied with a sigh. "If I leave it that way or put another name on it, I could lose my license."

"Can't you just burn the file?" Thirteen asked.

"I could. Chalk it up to waste, but there's a meeting scheduled to take place in less than a week. The board of trustees decided to get the hospital inspection over with soon to deem me capable of taking care of a hospital in which my husband works."

"Oh shit. They know you're engaged."

"Well that happens when you decide to get married. You risk a lot if you work together," she said with another huge sigh. "Any file I touch they'll know about."

"I'll do it," Thirteen offered after a moment of silence.

"What?" Cuddy asked.

"I'll get rid of the file. Keep it in the apartment or something and then burn it," the young woman offered.

"You're young, if you lost your license, your career would be considerably diminished."

"I have less to lose," Thirteen replied, waving the excuses off. "I'm willing to take the risk."

"Are you sure?" Cuddy asked as Wilson rubbed circles on her back.

"He saved my life. And he's a friend, even if he is an ass." Thirteen shrugged.

"This conversation never leaves the room," Cuddy said, finally consenting. Her comrades nodded their agreement.

"Are you going to go talk to him?" Wilson asked her after a moment.

The soon-to-be Mrs. House rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I should. I guess. He's House, after all. It's not like he planned on this…or he'd better hope he didn't." She stood. "I'll talk to you later. You should go get some rest…take care of that baby."

Cuddy left Wilson and Thirteen talking quietly in her office as they prepared to leave, and walked purposefully in the opposite direction of the room in which House was being kept; she needed to think a bit on her own. She grabbed a cup of coffee from the nurse's station and massaged the back of her neck. She had no idea what to think. Of course she loved House and wanted to believe him, but really who would want him to lose his job so badly that they would drug him? Perhaps if they found out who had done it quick enough, she could salvage the situation and keep House's job and her integrity.

After nearly ten minutes of trying to think of something to say to him, she entered the room. He was staring at the television and didn't bother looking up when she entered. She didn't blame him particularly as she had berated him fairly heavily the last time they had been in the same room. "Hey," she said quietly.

He finally looked up, an unhappy look plastered on his face. "Hello."

"Look, I'm sorry House. I'm just stressed to the fucking breaking point. I know we're going to fight, but I really should have been right behind you when you said you were drugged. I'd like you to forgive me if that's possible," she said, inhaling deeply. This had come bursting forth and House took a moment to get his bearings, taking in the information that had been presented and processing it quickly.

"Did you just say 'fucking'?" he asked, a grin stealing over his features.

She laughed out loud. "Sorry."

"I like it when you talk dirty," he told her, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. She let out a breath of relief and came over to wrap her arms around him. Their lips met in a moment of pure bliss and she looked at him a bit dazedly when they broke apart. "You taste pretty damned good for someone with such a dirty mouth."

Cuddy had a feeling that she would be hearing a lot more about her 'dirty' mouth and grinned, thinking that that would be just fine so long as he still loved her.


	51. Bottom of the Barrel

Ch 51: Bottom of the Barrel

"What the fuck is so special about her that she wouldn't try to poison him?" Cuddy asked when Wilson stated that he didn't think Sundai was culprit in House's drugging. They were sitting with Thirteen in Cuddy's office eating Chinese and going over possibilities for the guilty party.

Wilson shrugged uncomfortably under her fierce gaze. "I dunno. She just doesn't seem like the type."

"She's new and has as much access to him as everyone else. And she was at the party," Thirteen said, weighing the possibilities.

"She was there, but I don't think she'd try to get onto House's team to try and get him to slip up. She's too good. She worked in the morgue for nearly a year trying to get an interview with him. What's the motive?" Wilson asked. Both women looked at him scrutinizing him and trying to determine whether or not they could believe him.

"What if Taub was onto something?" Cuddy asked suddenly, her face contorting slightly as she thought about the idea of her fiancé with another woman. "House told me he threatened to stir up trouble…what if the trouble is the truth?"

"Do you seriously think House would cheat on you?" Thirteen asked. "He's more likely to relapse than to cheat. He loves you."

"Love doesn't mean you don't cheat," Wilson said sadly, then noticing the horrified looks on the women's faces he quickly continued. "Not that House would. And I'm over that…you know I am." He looked pleadingly at Thirteen who was biting her bottom lip.

Cuddy sighed. "I just don't know who would want to screw House over…"

"Wait…was Taub at the party?" Thirteen asked, searching Wilson's face.

"No…he wouldn't have." Wilson swallowed."He was off by himself the whole time."

"What do you mean?" Cuddy asked. "Are you suggesting that Dr. Taub…that he drugged House? For what? To get back at him?"

"I don't know why…but he's definitely a suspect. Or he should be," Thirteen pointed out. She looked once again to Wilson for some kind of confirmation. He nodded.

"So it's either Sundai or Taub," he said with a sigh.

"Or Sundai working with Taub," the Dean of Medicine suggested.

"Either way we're going to have to find some defining evidence," Thirteen stated, standing. The threesome finished dinner quickly, then went back to House's room to check on him. He was under careful supervision by Cameron alone, no one else was to know he was in the hospital until things were straightened out. He was therefore, not allowed to leave until things were fixed. And he wasn't allowed to eat anything not brought to him by Cameron. He was therefore not very happy when he had discovered that his best friend, his future wife, and his employee were eating Chinese food together behind his back.

"So you traitors decided to take pity on a poor man in the hospital?" he asked, sniffing around hopefully for some excess food that they may have been kind enough to bring him.

"Sorry," Wilson replied sheepishly. "I'll get you some next time."

House rolled his eyes. "What good are you three? Maybe I should get Foreman in on this…he might get me some Lo Mein!" House looked pointedly at Thirteen, hoping that she would be offended at the comparison to her former boyfriend. She simply rolled her eyes, however.

"You'd get less sympathy from him," Cuddy told him, bending to kiss him chastely.

"Dammit, you taste like Chinese!" he complained. "If I can't eat it at least brush your teeth before you kiss me…taunting me isn't nice!"

Cuddy patted him on the head patronizingly. "Cameron should be in shortly with your dinner," she told him.

"Oh good. I was hoping she'd bring me more soup and jello." He groaned and threw himself back into the pillows. Had his clothes not been confiscated and his room locked up properly, he would have escaped by now, not caring about the consequences. Wilson and Cuddy with Thirteen thrown in made for a hell of an opposition, however.

"We'll be back tomorrow," Wilson told his friend. "Remy wants to check on the baby."

"She should. She's a mom now…not just some snotty kid doctor who wants to starve her boss." She didn't respond and he stuck out his tongue.

"Goodnight, House," Wilson said before following her out of the room.

Cuddy sighed. "As soon as there's either a suspect that we can put this O.D. onto or everyone's ruled out you can leave," she told him.

"I'd rather leave now."

"How about I keep you entertained?" she asked with a smirk.

"Does it involve your clothes coming off?" he asked hopefully, sitting up again. She locked the door, then crossed the room, drawing closer to him.

"You'll just have to wait and see," she said huskily.


	52. Face Behind the Face

Ch 52: Face Behind the Face

House was still in the hospital a week later and was growing even more frustrated, as were those around him. "Maybe we should just write this off and let it go," Wilson suggested after House nearly bit Cameron's head off for bringing him more jello for lunch.

"Good idea. I'm tired of this bullshit and it's less than a month until I'm supposed to get married. We need to get back to our lives!" he said, standing up to pace around the room. "I need a case or I'm going to need to be put in the nutter…"

Wilson stifled a laugh and covered it by clearing his throat. "House can go back to work and this never gets out," he suggested.

"What about all the waste this is going to be accredited to?" Cudded wanted to know. "That's on me…all of it."

"Just say that some nurse fucked up," House offered. "One of the one's that are ready to retire anyway…like Nancy on the fourth floor…"

"HOUSE!" she admonished.

"I'm not staying here," he said firmly. "Figure something out…I'll be getting back to my job. And my life."

Wilson handed his best friend the clothes that he had brought in upon the decision to spring House and he pulled up the pants in front of them, not caring that Cuddy and Wilson saw bits of his bits. "I'll see you in about an hour," the oncologist said. "I've got to meet with a patient about a tumor." He left House and Cuddy staring at each other, the latter at a loss for words.

"I'm sorry…I just can't take this," he told her.

She sighed, then nodded, giving in. "We'll just write it off." She turned away to gather up some papers and he felt a bit guilty for putting her on the spot. She didn't respond to his apology, however. "Let's just go to lunch," she said with a forced smile. "I know you'd much rather have a burger than more jello."

House groaned in appreciation as he sank his teeth into a steak. He and Cuddy had opted to get out of the hospital for a bit longer and he was enjoying his release immensely. She couldn't help but grin as he smiled at her around a mouthful of meat. "This is really good!" he said, his actually words sounding more like "Thith ith weeeleee goft."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," she replied, taking a small amount of her own steak onto her fork. House had been very pleasant since his escape and she was at least grateful for that. She wasn't about to have someone fired to cover her own ass, but was certainly not relishing the idea of telling the board that the hospital had wasted approximately $10,000 somehow. She sighed once more, giving in to the realization that there was little that she could do and wondering how the actual culprit was faring, knowing that House's career and her integrity had been put on the line because of their little 'trick.'

They returned to the hospital after House had had his fill of greasy meat and fattening buttered bread and House stepped into his office and breathed in the scent of abnormal cases that were waiting on him. He picked up a handful of files that had been placed on his desk and sifted through them, wondering who had brought them in. Neither Foreman or Sundai were around.

He selected the most recently admitted case, a woman with a tumor on her optical nerve that quite possibly had nothing to do with her excessive bleeding. He popped down to the clinic to try and gather his team before visiting her room personally to get a patient history when they were nowhere to be found. He left her room hours later ready to poke his brain out with a q-tip. She had been quite detailed in her various medical experiences. He decided to have one of his lackies do the rest of the work that involved the doctor-patient contact portion of treatment and tossed the case down on his desk, the others having been tossed away.

Sundai appeared at 2 p.m., looking excited and ready to work. "I'm glad you're finally back," she informed him. "It's been so boring around here that I considered going downstairs to help in the morgue!"

He laughed. "Thanks…we've got a patient. Room number is on the folder…and unfortunately I already did the history. I need a full workup done. Do you know if Foreman is in?"

"He should be. I had lunch with him today."

"How's he been keeping himself busy?"

"Droning on about how annoying it is for you to be gone, mostly," she replied. "Did you guys figure out who slipped you the Vicodin?" she asked, lowering her voice.

"No. I don't really care anymore. I'm done with that. Cuddy's still on the tangent though, so don't mention it if she happens to come in."

"Alright. See you in a while then!"

House turned on the television once she was gone and found his soap opera fairly quickly. Fortunately his room had had cable. He propped his feet up on his desk and waited for something spectacular to happen.


	53. Don't Rock the Boat

Ch 53: Don't Rock the Boat

House was a bit annoyed when Cuddy came into the differential room later when Foreman and Sundai had come to present him with the findings of his panels. His fiancé had been quite rude to Sundai without any cause that he could see beyond her being at his bachelor's party. Fortunately, Sundai had been very professional and House took Cuddy aside to ask her to lay off the snide remarks. Cuddy was not pleased, but she acquiesced to his requests to please him.

The diagnostician left the hospital that evening with a lot on his mind and more test results to be delivered. Cuddy was quiet on the ride home and he was grateful for that. They didn't talk until she asked him if he wanted to order pizza for dinner or have her cook. Pizza ended up being the conclusion and he was left alone for a while with his thoughts. His cell phone rang from the kitchen and he got up to retrieve it, only to be thwarted by Cuddy. "I'll get it!" she announced, getting it before he could even enter the kitchen. She was rather displeased to find out that it was Sundai.

"What's up?" House asked when Cuddy handed him the phone. "Are you sure?" He walked into the hall to take the call and Cuddy was left feeling like she was being ignored. House was informed that the tumor had been removed and the patient was still bleeding irregularly. He ordered a CAT scan and returned to the living room, only to be accosted about his conversation.

"What's going on?" Cuddy asked in a tone that he knew meant trouble. He could tell she had been hurt by something and was wary of finding out exactly what was on her mind.

"The team removed a patient's tumor and they updated me on some conditions," he told her nonchalantly.

She frowned. "Why did you take the call in the hallway?"

"Because I didn't want to disrupt your TV show…" he replied, not liking where the conversation was going. "Do you have something personal against Sundai?"

"No. Nothing I can put my finger on. Why are you protecting her?" Cuddy wanted to know.

"Because you're circling her like a tiger ready to pounce on some smaller animal."

"She could have been the one to slip you Vicodin!" Cuddy said rather more loudly than she would have liked. "You're overlooking that fact."

House shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around his fiancé's accusations. "You think she drugged me?"

"Yes. Possibly. Who else was there that you don't know that well. Unless you know her better than you're putting on."

"I don't know her that well, but I have worked with her for long enough to peg her for a conspirator if she was one," House informed Cuddy. "Where is this coming from."

She sighed. "She was at your party."

"Yeah."

"Well she had the opportunity to drug you then."

"Why would you automatically suspect her?"

"I don't know…I don't know her!"

House took in that information. "Is this about Taub being fired. Do you think I was trying to actually cover something up that he witnessed?" he asked.

"No…I just don't know this girl!"

"You're not going to know lots of people who I deal with. Why her?" House wanted to know."

"She's young and pretty. She can get under your skin and completely ruin everything we've built…" she said after a few moments. "I don't want to put us in danger."

He had to take a few moments to let her words sink in. "You're jealous?" he questioned her finally.

"I-I…"

"Either you're jealous or you don't trust me at all," he pointed out. "You don't trust me around a young doctor."

"You like to play games with people…what if she takes something the wrong way?"

"You think I'd let her take something THAT way?" he asked. "Cuddy, I'm not going to lead her on or flirt with her when I've got you waiting at home for me. I thought you knew me better than that. Wilson's the chronic cheater…"

"I know…I just…"

"I'm sorry," House said, standing up. "I just need to clear my head. I'm going to get in the shower."

Her heart sank as he walked away. She felt more alone than she had ever done in her life. Her biggest fear in life, having a relationship then losing as he walked away, was playing over and over in her mind. Only Rachel crying in her bedroom brought her out of the doldrums of despair that were threatening to overtake her. She went to her child and sought comfort in the presence of a warm body.

For the next week, things were tense between House and Cuddy. She was trying to stave off suspicions of him wanting someone else and he tried to figure out a way to show her that he loved only her. Wilson advised him to lay it all out for her, but he brushed the idea to the side, telling his best friend that there was not helping it if she thought he would leave her for someone else.

"She just needs reassurance," Wilson pointed out.

"I think I need a vacation," House replied.

"You guys are about to get married and go off to the Bahamas."

"A vacation from her," House said sadly.

"Don't go that route," Wilson advised. "It'll work out in time, but you can't give her up or she'll never believe that you want to work things out."

House sighed. "We need to get away for the weekend, just you and me. We'll drive to New York and see a play or something. I just need a day or two alone."

Wilson sighed. "I've got a kid now, House."

"Are you still my best friend?"

"Yeah. I'll make the arrangements."


	54. Falling Thru the Cracks

Ch 54: Falling Thru the Cracks

House spent the duration of his weekend away thinking about all that had passed in his life since he and Cuddy had made the first step toward one another. Wilson mostly gave him his space, reveling in the freedom of being away from his obligations with only House to share his delights and conversations with. They went out to a play on Saturday night, as per Wilson's request and House's promise and House saw Cuddy's features on the faces of all the actors. Sunday was spent lounging about with football on the television and pizza boxes strewn about the hotel room.

"You still thinking about her?" Wilson asked gently, noticing his friend ignorance of the game score. House turned to his friend, a spark in his blue eyes.

"Yeah. How could I not? I love her."

"I know," Wilson replied with a smirk.

"Don't go getting all cocky about it," House warned him. "We're the only two around and I'm sure no one would care much if you 'accidentally' fell off of the balcony.

Wilson snorted. "Do you even care about the game?" he asked.

"Not really," House admitted.

"Then I'm changing the channel."

"As long as you don't put it on QVC I don't care."

"We've got a few hours before we have to check out, wanna watch all the free porn we can get in?" Wilson asked with a devilish smirk.

House's eyebrows lifted significantly. "You're going to watch pornography with a man due to be married next week? And without your nympho girlfriend?"

"She's not a nympho," Wilson protested, changing channels and searching for something explicit enough to count as hardcore porn.

"How many times per week do you have sex?" House questioned.

"I dunno…seven or eight."

"NYMPHO!" House practically yelled. "She had a baby a month ago…she's not even supposed to be getting down and dirty for another entire month."

Wilson rolled his eyes. "You're just jealous."

"Of your walking porno? Hardly."

Wilson laughed. "You are jealous. Does Cuddy not facilitate as much as you'd like?"

"Don't make me get up and kick your ass."

"Like I couldn't fend off a cripple who doesn't even have pain meds now."

"This cripple can still kick the ass of a man who enjoys quilting patterns. You're getting old, Wilson…you're a daddy now!"

"I'm not the one with gray hair, now am I?"

"You might not show it, but I don't dye mine either," House said smugly, fingering a bit of Wilson's chocolate colored locks. Wilson was not at all amused with House's mention of his hair coloring habits.

"You had to bring the hair into this, didn't you?"

"Of course…age is relative…attractiveness is key…"

"I'm dating a twenty-eight year old bisexual woman and you think you're sexier than I am?" Wilson asked House.

"I'm doing my boss…who has a hot ass and a great rack, by the way."

Wilson couldn't hold back his laughter. "I'll give you that one, but Sundai definitely finds me more attractive."

"Have you even talked to her?" House asked skeptically.

"All the time. She joined Thirteen and I for an…ahem…excursion last weekend."

"NYMPHO!"

Nearly an hour later they finally settled their debate enough to watch the porn Wilson had found. Both men were uncomfortably aroused by the end of the film and retreated to separate rooms to take care of their own problems and grabbed their bags at the last minute to rush down stairs and check out of the hotel.

An hour and a half later Wilson was dropping House off in front of Cuddy's place."Go on back to your sex fiend…" House said, inclining his head to his best friend.

The oncologist laughed in reply. "Goodnight, House."

"'Night."

Wilson sped off as House made his way up the walkway. Cuddy met him at the door and he wrapped her up in a warm embrace. He could tell she had been crying and a wave of guilt washed over him. He kissed her temples and forehead for a while, then let her strip his coat off and take his bags. He followed her into the bedroom, however.

"Cuddy," he started. She turned to look at him and his heart nearly broke. "I don't want to fight anymore. We shouldn't have been fighting at all. I love you. You mean more to me than I could ever tell you. I'm sorry about walking away for a while…I hope you won't hold it against me…I just…I'm still working on it."

"I know," she whispered, tucking the bag into the corner of the room.

"I am so grateful to have you in my life," House continued, closing the space between them. "Please never leave me. And know that I will never be unfaithful to you."

"I love you, House," she said, her tears escaping down her cheeks.

He kissed away the salty remnants of her sadness, wishing he was a better man. He slowly led her toward the bed and pulled her down with him. He kissed over her face, teasing the corners of her mouth for several moments before capturing her kiss. They clung to one another as their clothes were slowly shed. Before either realized it, they lay naked, pressed together. House's erection pressed against Cuddy's belly and he groaned as she rubbed up against him.

"I only want you," he murmured, releasing her lips only to kiss down her throat.

"Oh House!" she moaned as he made his way down to her breasts. He suckled her nipples, one then the other as his hand played between her legs, testing her wetness. She lifted her hips to meet the thrusts of his fingers as he plunged into her.

As she came undone around his digits, his member twitched in anticipation of the feeling. He held her as she came down, only climbing over her body after she was once again kissing him fiercely. He aligned himself with her entrance and pressed forward quickly, filling her with his hot flesh. He moaned against her skin that was now salty with the mingling of their sweat. House kissed her breasts as he increased his pace.

Cuddy wrapped her legs around House's waist as he pushed her farther and farther toward the edge, his balls slapping against her ass as he thrust powerfully into her body. She writhed beneath him as her second orgasm overtook her. As Cuddy's body milked him, House poured his seed deep into her womb. They lay entangled for quite some time as he studied her face, his breath returning to normal.

"I love you."

"I love you too, House."


	55. End of an Eternity

Ch 55: End of an Eternity

House was nervous dressed in black and white. He barely heard a word anyone said as he traipsed up the aisle to await his blushing bride. Thoughts rushed through his mind and he vaguely wondered whether she would even show up. This was the one and only time he was doing this, he decided as he stood watching Wilson escort Thirteen up the aisle, followed by Chase and Cameron, and Cuddy's sister and brother-in-law who had been invited out of obligation. As his heart beat faster and faster, the wedding march began and Wilson placed a hand on his shoulder.

Cuddy appeared in a flowing white gown shortly after Rachel toddled in tossing bits of flower onto people's shoes. She was smiling, but House could tell from thirty feet away that there were tears in her eyes. Foreman walked her down the aisle and House's heart clenched up as he realized that he was going to spend the rest of his life with the woman walking toward him. Her hand was placed in his and he smiled, trying not to shake too much as they turned to the pastor.

House was glad that he had put his foot down about writing their own vows. Of course it would have been terribly romantic, as Cuddy had put it, but he wouldn't have remembered a thing. It was lucky that he managed to repeat after the man in robes at all. Wilson handed him the gold ring and he placed it on Cuddy's left hand muttering something sentimental that he hoped no one else had heard, then waited impatiently for her to do the same. The final words were lost on him as he pulled back her veil and kissed her cheeks free of tears, and then captured her lips in a sweet kiss.

The broke the glass, as was Jewish tradition, and walked back down the aisle toward the exit, only to be thwarted by Taub in a fine tuxedo. "What's going on?" House asked his former employee.

"I just wanted to apologize for slipping you the Vicodin," he said quietly.

Cuddy gasped, but House was too happy to care. He had been presented with a bride and Taub could be dealt with later. He brushed the shorter man to the side and made his way outside to drive his new bride to the reception hall. "Aren't you worked up?" she asked him as the sped away from the stunned Taub.

"I don't care about him…I really just wanted that to be over. Now I'm married to the most wonderful woman I've ever known and that's all I care about."

She beamed at him blushing. "I love you, House."

"I love you too."

The evening of celebrations wore on and House danced with his wife several times, Thirteen once and turned Wilson down more than he would liked to have admit. "We're tying the knot," Wilson whispered none too quietly to his best friend after several drinks.

"You're paying for your own strippers!" House told him, pumping his fist into the air triumphantly.

It was nearly midnight when House departed with Cuddy to the wedding suite Wilson had booked for him as a wedding gift. Rachel would be staying with Cuddy's sister for the night, then the next afternoon, the Houses would pick her up and leave for their honeymoon. House surprised Cuddy once they were inside their private paradise by holding out a folder before he would let her strip him down.

"What's this?" she asked, glee in her eyes as she knew what was coming next in their celebrations.

"Open it," he suggested with a wink.

She opened the file and scanned over it for several minutes before looking up at him, thoroughly astonished. "You…want to adopt her?" Cuddy asked, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks once more.

"If you'll let me."

Cuddy threw her arms around him and kissed him passionately. "There's nothing that would make me happier," she told him as the tumbled into the bed. House had signed papers to adopt Rachel requiring only Cuddy's signature to make the change complete. She buried her hands in his hair and caressed his tongue with her own, thanking him silently for making this the happiest day of her life.

As they lay tangled together in the aftermath of their love, House kissed her once more, knowing that things were going to be amazing for them. He realized that there would be trials, but would never give up on their relationship and knew that she felt the same. He wrapped his arms more tightly around his wife and fell asleep with the name 'Lisa House' on his lips.

**A/N:**

**I am sorry to have to end this story, but there will be others. Hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing. Keep HUDDY alive!!!!**


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